The focus of his research is on how the labour unions take the opportunities at local level to put forward their interests amidst the new local political dynamics after the introduction of decentralisation and local democratisation. He analyses the ways in which unions attempt to influence the local labour policies, expand their interests into issues of citizenship, undertake experimental steps in electoral politics, and expand their social base within local social political context. 

The study assumes that local dynamics become increasingly important to be analysed since power structure in regions has changed. Local identities have been also reproduced and contested in new patterns. The dimensions of locality become more influential. The study specifically tries to look at how the labour unions move through accommodation, resistance, and negotiation within such local context, and its effects on the change of workers’ bargaining position.

Personal e-mail address: harnugroho@yahoo.com