Merit-Based Affirmative Action in the Career Development of Civil Servants in Southwest Papua Province

Abstract

Career development of civil servants (ASN) in Southwest Papua Province operates under two mandates with different logics—the merit system and affirmative action for Indigenous Papuans (OAP)—making it prone to becoming discretion that is difficult to hold accountable. This study analyzes the implementation of merit-based affirmative action across three dimensions of the career cycle: merit in selection, development, and promotion. Using an interpretive qualitative approach with an embedded case study design at the Personnel and Human Resource Development Agency (BKPSDM) of Southwest Papua Province, the study involved 25 informants, with data collected through in-depth interviews, documentation study, and limited observation, then analyzed through theory-driven thematic analysis and pattern matching. The findings show that in selection, competency standards are not detailed, the placement of affirmative action shifts inconsistently, decision documentation is weak, and a qualified pool has not been formed; in development, competency mapping, training, assignment, and performance evaluation run separately without forming a pipeline, so that job placement often precedes competency preparation; and in promotion, decisions are not evidence-based and not traceable, so that the stigma of “being promoted by quota” grows from the absence of documentation rather than from low competence. The three dimensions lock into one another and converge on weak measurability and traceability as the basis for career decisions. The core problem is not a conflict between affirmative action and merit, but the failure of merit to function as documented and auditable rules of the game—so that affirmative action has not yet produced a sustainable supply of eligible OAP candidates.