State and Non-State Actor Collaboration in Advocating for The Educational Rights of Indonesian Migrant Workers' Children: A Paradiplomacy Framework Analysis

Abstract

Children of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers in East Malaysia remain structurally excluded from formal schooling because civil registration documents function as a prerequisite for enrolment and certification. This study examines how state and non-state actors collaborate in advocating for these children's educational rights, using paradiplomacy as an analytical lens. A qualitative descriptive design was applied through systematic document analysis of academic publications, institutional reports, and policy documents published between 2016 and 2026, analysed thematically across actor roles, interaction patterns, and structural constraints. The findings show that advocacy operates through five interlocking clusters of actors: central government institutions, consular representations, civil society organisations, community and corporate actors, and universities. Collaboration is sustained by three mechanisms, namely functional complementarity, negotiated interdependence, and administrative flexibility such as the documentation grace period. Enrolment data indicate that community learning centres accommodate far more learners than the formal Indonesian school, confirming that decentralised provision carries the largest share of access. The study argues that paradiplomacy usefully explains advocacy conducted below and beyond central diplomacy, while also revealing asymmetry in which grassroots actors bear implementation burdens without proportionate influence over agenda setting.