Indonesia: Twenty Years of Democracy (Elements in Politics and Society in Southeast Asia) (original) (raw)
Related papers
2021
Democracy in Indonesia: From Stagnation to Regression? raises questions on the meanings and consequences of the decline of democratic institutions in Indonesia. The book provides a range of cases and analyses that build well-sounded arguments at the macro, meso, and micro levels. With its focus on Indonesia, this book contributes to the debates around a global trend of democratic decline and populist approaches to governmentality. This book is divided into five chapters based on its umbrella topics, including, first, historical and comparative perspectives that highlight the democratic status (i.e. through the liberal democracy index) of Indonesia amongst Southeast Asian countries and globally (Allen Hicken), as well as temporal comparative study in explaining the relative success of Indonesia's democratic transition in 1998 (Dan Slater). The second chapter discusses polarization and populism. Eve Warburton argues that the rise of populism in Indonesia indicates latent ideological divisions that have turned into political conflicts, followed by Nava Nuraniyah highlighting the roles of Indonesian Islamist and pluralist fractions in contributing to a downwards-spiralling to authoritarian pluralism. Liam Gammon adds the element of electoral rules and institutional frameworks' roles in reducing the force of populism in Indonesia, which he also argues might be weakening Indonesian democracy from the grassroots upwards (i.e. the emergence of populist grassroots movements). Lastly, rather different from other authors who emphasize identities and ideological differences, Abdil Mughis Mudhoffir argues that the rise of populism is a symptom of undemocratic institutions in redistributing resources. Mudhoffir views that widening socioeconomic inequality has contributed to the more polarized society in Indonesia. The third chapter discusses societal-level popular support for democracy, which highlights acceptance of election results by electoral losers as an indicator of democratic deconsolidation (Burhanuddin Muhtadi), and people's conception of multidimensional democracy in the Indonesian context (Diego Fosatti and Ferran Martinez i Coma). The fourth chapter discusses Indonesia's democratic institutions by examining the roles of political parties as vehicles of the peoples' aspirations, the mass media, redistribution policies among regions, as well as state surveillance regulation and practices. Marcus Mietzner observes the rise of electoral personalization, or the reliance on personal charisma, networks, financial resources, and capabilities, to mobilize voters has weakened political parties' roles in a
"Indonesia 2017: Towards Illiberal Democracy?", Asia Maior, Vol. XXVIII, 2017
In 2017, in the third year of Joko «Jokowi» Widodo’s presidency, Indonesia was already preparing for the next general elections, scheduled in April 2019. The country’s political arena saw on the one hand the mobilisation of political Islam, which resulted in the arrest and defeat of Jokowi’s ally, Basuki «Ahok» Tjahaja Purnama, and, on the other, the adoption of hyper-nationalist and illiberal tones. Moreover, the contrast between Jokowi’s electoral promises and his action became more apparent, raising doubts about his transformative capability and willingness. This became particularly evident in terms of the fight against corruption and of the Papuan question. No major development characterised Indonesia’s foreign policy as compared to previous years. Yet moderate improvements could be seen in its economic performance, with the growth rate stable at around 5%, but with still-high levels of inequality.
Indonesia: from Suharto to democracy?
1997
In recent years there have been some dramatic changes of political leadership in the Asia-Pacific region, and also some dramas without leadership change. In a few countries the demise of well-entrenched political leaders appears imminent; in others regular processes of parliamentary government still prevail. These differing patterns of regime change and regime maintenance raise fundamental questions about the nature of political systems in the region. Specifically, how have some political leaders or leadership groups been able to stay in power for relatively long periods and why have they eventually been displaced? What are the factors associated with the stability or instability of political regimes? What happens when longstanding leaderships change? The Regime Change and Regime Maintenance in Asia and the Pacific Project will address these and other questions from an Asia-Pacific regional perspective and at a broader theoretical level.
2014
We argue that Indonesia’s path to democracy was borne out of necessity brought about by a state of extreme precariousness and then molded by its lack thereof. Its lack thereof precisely reflected the internal power struggle and elite competition between remnant groups of the New Order vying under a different set of circumstances. Notwithstanding the given peculiarities of Indonesia’s transition, the current state of democracy in Indonesia is clearly one that is also shaped by the patrimonial character of the New Order. While imminent necessity acts as a temporary stop to ensure that these predatory tendencies of Indonesia’s political system do not come to the fore, its dissolution subsequently opened up the avenues for them to remerge. For even necessity has its limitations and these limitations lie in its eventual demise. Such a pattern inevitably contributed to perceptions of Indonesia’s reform process as being perceived as a vacillating “two steps forward, one step back.” The stu...
Book Review: Indonesia: Twenty Years of Democracy
PCD Journal
Writing both succinctly and comprehensively about the rise, achievements, and challenges of Indonesian democracy since 1998 is difficult. Most scholars have opted for extensive books or focused on special themes or regions. Jamie Davidson has made an admirable effort in less than eighty accessible pages in a new series titled Cambridge Elements, which aims to combine “up-to-date overview of debates in the scholarly literature with original analysis and a clear argument”. He focuses on politics, political economy, identity-based mobilisation, and arrives at three major conclusions.
Cross-cultural Communication Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture, 2021
The study of finding the right posture for Indonesian democracy has never been completed. The reason is that the history of democracy as understood in Europe and America does not have deep roots in Indonesia since long ago. Moreover, compared to 55 years since independence, Indonesia’s democracy has actually made great leaps and bounds since the start of reforms in 1998, compared to Suharto’s authoritarian (New Order) rule from 1966 to 21 May 1998, and during Soekarno’s reign from the country’s independence. from 1945 to 1966. A year after the fall of Suharto on 21 May 1998, Indonesia held its first democratic elections on 7 June 1999. The elections were participated by 48 political parties. In 2004, Indonesia held its first direct presidential election. A year later, Indonesia held its first regional head elections, in which voters directly elected governors, regents, and mayors. Thus, the elections continued until the last December 9, 2020 until they got their form later in the na...