Competing populisms in post-authoritarian Indonesia

Abstract

Populist politics have become more prominent in Indonesia. On the one hand, this is indicated by the presidential elections of 2014, when two rival candidates brandished somewhat different nationalist populist ideas. On the other hand, historically rooted secular nationalist and Islamic-oriented forms of populism have become entangled within elite conflicts. The context is discontent about perceived systemic injustices unaddressed in nearly two decades of decentralised democracy after a prior three decades of centralised authoritarian rule. In the absence of liberal and Leftist challenges to the entrenched oligarchy, politics is becoming characterised by competition between different populisms. But rather than being transformative, these populisms are harnessed to the maintenance of oligarchic domination.