Electoral Finance and Ecological Governance: A Theoretical Framework for Institutional Constraint in Resource-Dependent Democracies

Abstract

Contemporary electoral systems in resource-dependent countries face a key problem: elections can produce policies that harm the environment. This creates a tension between democratic legitimacy and ecological sustainability. This study explains how electoral finance influences ecological outcomes by developing the Ecological Constraint–Democratic Subordination (ECDS) framework. It addresses a gap in existing research, which often separates campaign finance from environmental governance. The study uses a qualitative comparative case study of Indonesia, Brazil, and the Philippines. The findings show that electoral finance shapes political incentives, which influence policy decisions through three mechanisms: regulatory forbearance, policy favoritism, and institutional capacity reduction. These processes contribute to environmental degradation across contexts. This study provides a framework that links political finance to environmental governance and shows the need to consider political and institutional factors in addressing environmental problems.

References

Abman, R. (2017). Rule of law and avoided deforestation from protected areas. Ecological Economics, 146, 282-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.11.004

Aulia, A. P., & Andhini. (2025). The Dilemma of Decentralization in Public Policy Implementation in Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Public Administration Review, 2(4), 13. https://doi.org/10.47134/par.v2i4.4757

Auty, R. M. (1993). Sustaining development in mineral economies: The resource curse thesis. Routledge.

Blühdorn, I. (2019). The legitimation crisis of democracy: emancipatory politics, the environmental state and the glass ceiling to socio-ecological transformation. Environmental Politics, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2019.16818

Baird, J., Plummer, R., Jollineau M., & Dale, G. (2021). Evaluating ecological outcomes from environmental stewardship initiatives: A comparative analysis of approaches. Journal of Environmental Management, 297 (1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113266

Bryant, R. L., & Bailey, S. (1997). Third World political ecology. Routledge.

Burgess, R., Hansen, M., Olken, B. A., Potapov, P., & Sieber, S. (2012). The political economy of deforestation in the tropics. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(4), 1707-1754.

Chaloping-March, M. (2014). ‪The mining policy of the Philippines and «resource nationalism» towards nation-building‪. Journal de la Société des Océanistes, 1, 138-139. https://doi.org/10.4000/jso.7067‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Chandra, Y. (2024). Assessing the Impact of Decentralization on the Quality of Indonesian Democracy. Global Strategis, 18(2) . https://doi.org/10.20473/jgs.18.2.2024.409-430

Cisneros, E., Kis-Katos, K., & Nuryartono, N. (2021). Palm oil and the politics of deforestation in Indonesia. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 108, 102453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102453

Dahliani Dahliani, & Hadi Tuasikal. (2025). Corporate Responsibility for Environmental Damage from The Perspective of Unlawful Acts and Environmental Justice. Jurnal Ius Constituendum, 10(2), 265-281. https://doi.org/10.26623/jic.v10i2.12020

Djogo, T & Syaf, R. (2004). Decentralization without accountability : power and authority over local forest governance in Indonesia. Indiana university. Digital library of the commons (DLC). http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/1611/Djogo_Decentralization_040308_Paper565a.pdf

Doyle, C., Wicks, ,. C., & Nally, F. (2006). Mining in the Philippines Concerns and conflicts. https://landportal.org/library/resources/eldisa24466/mining-philippines-concerns-and-conflicts

Dryzek, J. S. (2000). Deliberative democracy and beyond: Liberals, critics, contestations. Oxford University Press.

Estlund, D. M. (2008). Democratic authority: A philosophical framework. Princeton University Press.

Falguera, Elin, et al., editors. Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns: A Handbook on Political Finance. IDEA, 2014, https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/funding-of-political-parties-and-election-campaigns.pdf. Accessed 16 April 2026.

Forster, R., Williams, A., Anindito, L & Cabrejo le Roux, A. (2026). Addressing conflicts of interest and corruption in Indonesia’s energy transition. the Basel Institute on Governance. https://baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Addressing-conflicts-of-interest-and-corruption-in-indonesia-s-energy-transition_U4-Issue.pdf

Handoyo, S. (2024). Public governance and national environmental performance nexus: Evidence from cross-country studies. Heliyon, 10(23). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40637

Hartono, M, S. (2025). Transparency Of Campaign Funds as A Strategy for Eradicating Criminal Acts of Corruption. The 7th International Conference on Law, Social Sciences and Education (ICLSSE 2025), 221(03018). https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202522103018

Hasen, R. L. (2016). Plutocrats united: Campaign money, the Supreme Court, and the erosion of American democracy. Yale University Press.

Holden, W. N., & Jacobson, R. D. (2012). Civil society opposition to nonferrous metals mining in Guatemala and the Philippines. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23(4), 827-848.

Indonesia Corruption Watch (2024). 2024 Election Campaign Fund Monitoring Report

Jacobin. (2023, January 18). Brazil's agribusiness bloc threatens to derail Lula's climate plans. Retrieved from https://jacobin.com/2023/01/brazil-agribusiness-rural-bloc-lula-climate-indigenous-rights

Jimenez, J, M., Alvarez, L, M, M., Saavedra, S. (2026). Power plays in the jungle: Political alignment and environmental degradation in Colombia. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2026.103335

Kalk, A., & Sorger, G., (2023). Climate policy under political pressure. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2023.102900

Kalt, T. (2024). Transition conflicts: A Gramscian political ecology perspective on the contested nature of sustainability transitions. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2024.100812

Killeen, T. J. (2025, January 16). Vested interests and social tribes in the Pan Amazon. Mongabay. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/vested-interests-and-social-tribes-in-the-pan-amazon/

Kristiyanto, H., Arinanto, S., & Ghafur, H. S. (2023). Institutionalization and party resilience in Indonesian electoral democracy. Heliyon, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22919

Lessig, L. (2011). Republic, lost: How money corrupts Congress—and a plan to stop it. Twelve.

Mehic, A. (2023). The electoral consequences of environmental accidents: Evidence from Chernobyl. Journal of Public Economics, 225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104964

Morpurgo, J., Kissling, W, D., Tyrrell, P., Negret, P, J., Bodegom, P, M., Allan, J, R., (2023). The role of elections as drivers of tropical deforestation. Biological Conservation, 279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109832

Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.

Pailler, S. (2018). Re-election incentives and deforestation cycles in the Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 88, 345-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2018.01.008

Robbins, P. (2004). Political ecology: A critical introduction. Blackwell Publishers.

Rodrigues-Filho, S., Verburg, R., Bursztyn, M., Lindoso, D., Debortoli, N., & Vilhena, A. M. G. (2015). Election-driven weakening of deforestation control in the Brazilian Amazon. Land Use Policy, 43, 111-118.

Ross, M. L. (2012). The oil curse: How petroleum wealth shapes the development of nations. Princeton University Press.

The Gecko Project & Mongabay. (2019). The people who ruined Indonesia's forests. Retrieved from https://thegeckoproject.org/

Vanderheiden, S. (2008). Atmospheric justice: A political theory of climate change. Oxford University Press.

Warburton, E. (2024). Private Power and Public Office: The Rise of Business Politicians in Indonesia. Critical Asian Studies, 56(2), 184–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2024.2334069

Willliams, A., & Dupuy, K. (2017). Deciding over nature: Corruption and environmental impact assessments. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 65, 118-124. https://www.cmi.no/publications/6225-deciding-over-nature

Zhou, D., Tawiah, V, K., Alessa, N. (2024). The impact of corruption on climate risk – An international evidence. Environmental Development, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2024.101059