Post-authoritarian Indonesia Research Articles

Book Review: Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia Perspective, written by Vedi R. Hadiz

Book Review: Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia Perspective, written by Vedi R. Hadiz

Indonesia. Money, power, and ideology: Political parties in post-authoritarian Indonesia By Marcus Mietzner Singapore: NUS Press, 2013. Pp. 301. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Money, power, and ideology: Political parties in post-authoritarian Indonesia By MARCUS MIETZNER Singapore: NUS Press, 2013. Pp. 301. Maps, Plates, Notes, Bibliography, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463414000435 As Indonesia enters an important election year, this book provides a timely analysis of the evolution of political parties in the country since 1998. Drawing on comparative sources and unprecedented access to influential political figures, Money, power, and ideology challenges the characterisation of Indonesia's party system as one that is either de-institutionalised or cartelised. Instead, the book argues that political parties have played a largely positive role in the ongoing consolidation of Indonesian democracy. However, the dysfunctional party financing system is identified as an enduring problem that often leads to perverse outcomes. State-financing of parties is proposed as a solution. A major portion of the book problematises the application of Richard Katz and Peter Mair's cartelisation theory to Indonesia by Dan Slater and Kuskridho Ambardi. The Indonesian case is evaluated against all four dimensions of the cartelisation thesis to conclude that the Indonesian system does not meet these criteria. First, it is argued that political alliances between parties have been too 'anarchic' to be characterised as a cartel (p. 151) and President SBY has struggled to impose discipline among his contentious allies. Most significantly, PDI-P's consistent role as an opposition party, at the expense of lucrative ministerial positions, is cited to challenge the existence of a party cartel. Second, the decline in state subsidies to political parties since Reformasi is used to argue that parties in Indonesia have not fused with the state in a way that is predicted by the cartelisation paradigm. Here, the claim that Indonesia's bureaucracy, specifically the Ministry of the Interior, has systematically blocked political parties' access to state resources is an important one. The role of bureaucracies in democratic consolidation remains relatively under-theorised and this book provides useful insights on how this may be studied in the future. Third, the book claims that there is active engagement between civil society and political parties such as the PKB and PAN that have their roots in mass organisations, while party-society disconnect is a key outcome of cartelisation in Western Europe. Fourth, the cartelisation thesis predicts reduced influence of regional branches on the party's decision-making. The book contends that local level cadres in major Indonesian parties continue to play a role in deciding critical matters such as selection of the party's leadership. This systematic evaluation of the cartelisation thesis makes a significant contribution in advancing the study of Indonesia's democratic consolidation. …

The New Link Between Art Festival and the Media: the Engagement of a Media Institution in Surabaya Art Festival

This paper is an attempt to investigate a new trend of media behaviour and to study an aspect of the non-journalistic practice of the media organization in the society in post-authoritarian Indonesia. It discusses the engagement of a major local media institution in the organization of the Surabaya Art Festival in the early 2000s. The involvement of one wealthy media institution, Jawa Pos, in the organization of Surabaya’s cultural art festival, therefore, could shape a new model of relationship between the media and the society in the Indonesian context. Based on interviews with several existing and ex-members of the festival committees and media documentations, this study argues that the political economy of the media interest has played a major role in determining the contents and management of the festival, disregarding the need to exhibit the remarkable cultural richness and innovations. In this particular cultural event, the media has played a significant role in supplying the funding for the festival, and consequently, the media control the power in conceptualising the city’s annual art festival since then. Yet, when the owner of the media institution chose to stop supporting the funding to the festival organization, the result was palpable. After the withdrawal of this major media magnate from the festival organization, the continuation of the Surabaya Art Festival has become troublesome and susceptible.

The greedy giants: Centralized television in post-authoritarian Indonesia

This article essentially shows how the development of commercial television in Indonesia has conflicted with the country’s media democratization, as illustrated by the growth of local media in the past 15 years. Compared to print media and radio, which are decentralized, Indonesia’s television industry is dominated by five large media corporations that are all based in the capital city of Jakarta. As a consequence, this fails to leave much growing space to television stations at a local level, which would be needed to strengthen Indonesia’s democratization. Media owners have successfully influenced the government in establishing a set of policies that sustain their dominance of the industry. Players within the television industry have even successfully swayed the direction of the broadcasting decentralization mandated by the Broadcasting Bill during Indonesia’s early political Reform period. The influence of these ‘Jakarta television stations’ stunted the development of television stations outside of Jakarta. Not only it deprives local actors of the economic value of developing their own television industry would bring, it also has resulted in the the loss of television's potential in functioning as a public sphere facilitating social control over democratic processes. Although the Reform era promised a new age of media democratization, the centralization of commercial television actually worsened media monopolies that were thought to have been done away with in post-Suharto Indonesia.

Local repertoires of reasoning and the Islamist movement in post-authoritarian Indonesia

This study seeks to give nuance to the current scholarship on the Islamist movement in post-authoritarian Indonesia that largely focuses on its transnational features. Through an analysis of a local Islamist movement, tied to a particular place and local history and detailed reconstruction of contestation over religion and identity in South Sulawesi during the turbulent years following the collapse of Suharto, I argue that its success in the area was based on its effective use of local repertoires of reasoning (local history, adat, rituals and memory), rather than through scriptural arguments. Often thought as being an antithesis to local elements and rituals, the various Islamist movements also exploit local repertoires of reasoning to justify their agenda: the formalisation of sharia. In contrast to the existing studies about the Islamist movement in post-Suharto Indonesia which often emphasises the violence and the vigilantism, this study invites us to see the intellectualism of an Islamist movement born during the period.

The Television Industry in Post-authoritarian Indonesia

This article examines the rise of capital in the Indonesian television industry. Following Richard Robison's seminal book, Indonesia: The Rise of Capital, it suggests that a range of powerful economic and political interests have determined the dynamics of the evolution of this industry in Indonesia. During the heyday of the New Order, a commercial television industry was created in ways that suited the expansion of the business interests of oligarchic families. In the post-Soeharto era, a major interest of capital in this industry has been to overcome regulatory mechanisms that were put in place before the euphoria of reform and democratisation had abated. Moreover, there are strong connections between capital in the television industry and political groupings contesting power within Indonesia's democracy. While capital accumulation in this industry may not be as massive as in some others, the unique characteristics of television as a medium ensure that exerting control over it remains vital.

Overcoming Path Dependence: The Quality of Civilian Control of the Military in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia

Theorists of civil-military relations have for long tried to identify the specific factors that lead to weak civilian control of the armed forces in some countries and very strong oversight regimes in others. While some authors highlight the importance of structural factors (such as the level of economic modernization), others point to the crucial role of personal agency (i.e., the quality and characteristics of leadership). Obviously, some form of interplay between structure and agency does occur, but the precise patterns of this relationship have rarely been explored. This article analyses the overall strong, yet institutionally volatile state of civilian control in post-authoritarian Indonesia, and evaluates the role of structural and agency-related factors in this outcome. It concludes that Indonesia has broken its supposed path dependence in several historical, economic and political areas, suggesting that post-1998 actions by political leaders and elite groups have played a more significant role in shaping the new civil-military relationship than commonly thought.

The green governmentality in an Indonesian metropolis

The current interest in the ‘clean and green’ that has become part of urban governmentality in Indonesia's metropolis is illustrative of the practice of becoming a citizen of Jakarta today. The ongoing demand to reclaim and produce green space, however, entails the displacement of those who are considered to be blocking the success of urban green initiatives. This paper points to ways in which contemporary forms of power are built on the premise that a green environment requires individuals to reconfigure themselves to gain social legitimacy. It shows how the greening of Jakarta can be understood as part of the evolving technology of governance associated with postauthoritarian Indonesia.

The Political Rise of the Prosperous Justice Party in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia

This article explains distinctive patterns of Islamist mobilization in Indonesia by focusing on the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). It argues that the relatively solid party-mass relations and broad spatial penetration of PKS are conditioned by its organizational ability to deliver welfare services to strategically targeted constituencies to help construct a community base.

Do New Democracies Support Democracy? Indonesia Finds a New Voice

Abstract: Throughout the 1990s, resisting international pressures to democratize was one of the dominant features of Indonesia’s foreign policy. Together with Singapore, Malaysia, and China, Indonesia strongly resisted the democracy-promotion agenda present in the foreign policies of Western countries, arguing that democracy was unsuitable for Asian societies. That position came to an end with the collapse of authoritarian rule in 1998. As the dust of domestic turmoil resulting from transition began to settle, Indonesia began to incorporate its democratic identity into foreign policy. Indonesia’s desire to establish its credential as a regional proponent of democracy in Southeast Asia, however, is still sought within the limits imposed by the precarious nature of Indonesia’s own democracy and the reality of regional politics. It also still registers a gap between its progressive outlook at regional level and conservative attitude in the international arena. Consequently, democracy can hardly function beyond an instrument to construct a new international identity for post-authoritarian Indonesia. In that context, the inclusion of democracy agenda in Indonesia’s foreign policy is still best described as an exercise in democracy-projection rather than democracy-promotion.

Street-level Politics: Labour Protests in Post-authoritarian Indonesia

Over the past ten years, Indonesia has seen an interesting trend in political action on the part of labour. Once risky activity, street protests have been decriminalised and become a common sight in many parts of the country, especially in urban areas. Industrial workers take to the streets in large numbers to challenge the state and business interests perceived as hostile to their material and political interests. Interestingly, scholars have largely neglected this phenomenon and instead focused on labour's failure to develop as a meaningful political force. This paper assesses the significance of labour protests and the light they throw on the development of a certain mode of engagement with the post-authoritarian state. It is suggested that the proliferation of protests among workers may sow the seeds of a “movement society.”

Beyond faith and identity: mobilizing Islamic youth in a democratic Indonesia

There is a prevailing assumption amongst scholars and observers of Indonesian politics that there is a close link between religious identity and political identity. How valid is this socio-cultural identity model in explaining the party affiliation and political allegiance of increasingly pious Muslim youth to a political organization in the context of democratic consolidation? In particular, how valid is this assumption with consideration to contemporary Indonesian politics? This article engages this debate through a careful analysis of the member recruitment and mobilization of the most successful religious-based Islamist organization in post-authoritarian Indonesia, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The article combines two strands of social movement theory, resource mobilization and opportunity structures, to argue that the PKS's relative success in recruiting committed Muslim youth is explained by two interrelated factors: (1) merit-based cadre recruitment and promotion, which offers young, ambitious and religiously conscious Muslim youth fair and institutionalized political career opportunities and thus incentives to commit themselves to the party's collective interests; and (2) the timing of organizational expansion that coincided with a rapid increase of state office – both executive and legislative – at the sub-national levels as a result of localized democratic elections.

From guardians to democrats? Attempts to explain change and continuity in the civil–military relations of post-authoritarian Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines

This article explores the role the military has played in the democratization processes of three ‘young democracies’ (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines) in Southeast Asia. The issue of democratization vis-à-vis the armed forces is even more relevant for Southeast Asia as a region with historically powerful militaries and long traditions of political interventions and rampant human rights abuses. While Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have historically struggled with deep entrenchments of the military – not only in the political arena, but also within the bureaucracy and the economy – their respective militaries played very different roles within democratization processes. The Indonesian military remained politically neutral after the fall of Suharto, the Philippines witnessed various failed coup attempts by mid-ranking officers, while the Thai military played a key role in the termination of democracy through a coup in 2006. The dominant literature on democratization tries to explain the different outcomes of democratization processes to democracy mainly by focusing on elite choices, new norms and values, shifts in conjunctural situations, the unraveling of the institutional structures of authoritarian regimes and the formation of new, democratic institutional structures. Likewise research on civil–military relations in new democracies has pointed to behavioral change, successful structural reforms (downsizing of the military, capacity-building, withdrawing the military from politics) and civilian leadership in defense and security matters as decisive factors for establishing civilian supremacy. Yet none of these factors fully explains why Indonesia's armed forces remained politically neutral after the fall of Suharto, while Thailand's generals launched a coup in 2006. To answer this question more general political dynamics of democratization processes need to be examined, especially with regard to the formation of new alliances of differing social forces and their impact on traditional power structures, in order to understand continuity and/or change in the military's attitudes towards democracy.

Historicizing the power of civil society: a perspective from decentralization in Indonesia

The devolution of power to subnational governments and the involvement of civil society in policy decisions and implementation are the twin pillars of neoliberal governance reforms in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Yet, for the poor, these reforms have failed to bring about downward accountability and popular participation. Based on a political ethnography in the Priangan highlands of West Java, this article explores how a civil society approach to decentralization has compromised local democracy. Drawing on state–society relations, state formation, and institutional choice literatures, and focusing on power relations, social structures, and historical experiences in Indonesia, the article illustrates the complicity of civil society in the failure of decentralization to benefit the poor.

Proliferating Provinces: Territorial Politics in Post-Suharto Indonesia

What explains the recent internal territorial changes in the Indonesian archipelago? Given the relatively constant number of provinces and districts during the New Order period, the sudden rise of new districts and provinces in post-authoritarian Indonesia is puzzling. This article argues that the phenomenon is driven by multilevel alliances across different territorial administrative levels, or territorial coalitions. It suggests that national level institutional changes explain the timing of provincial proliferation and that the triggers can vary, depending on historical and cultural contexts.

Challenging Nuclear: Antinuclear Movements in Postauthoritarian Indonesia

In mid-2006, the Indonesian government announced a plan to build nuclear power plants geared towards meeting soaring demands for energy in the country. After prolonged procrastination, the government is determined that time is ripe for Indonesia to go nuclear. While discussions on adopting nuclear power are steadily gaining currency among high officials and political elites, it is simulta- neously being contested by an antinuclear alliance consisting of multiple groups that form an organized resistance. The organized resistance is primarily driven by suspicions that the current government does not possess the capacity to handle high- risk technology. Using combined approaches of STS and social movement studies, the paper discusses the contestation of nuclear risk discourses and how lack of trust in the government has led to the ascendancy of antinuclear movements. In situating the paper within postauthoritarian Indonesia, this paper observes how shifts towards democratic change has allowed a network of civil society groups to organize resistance against nuclear power both at the national and local levels. The paper also highlights the way in which civic epistemology guides antinuclear groups to produce popular risk assessments that confront scientific calculations of nuclear risk. Lastly, it presents a vignette of how civil society groups mobilize local resources to explore alternative energy systems that ultimately undermine the government's nuclear ambitions.

Challenging Nuclear: Antinuclear Movements in Postauthoritarian Indonesia

In mid-2006, the Indonesian government announced a plan to build nuclear power plants geared towards meeting soaring demands for energy in the country. After prolonged procrastination, the government is determined that time is ripe for Indonesia to go nuclear. While discussions on adopting nuclear power are steadily gaining currency among high officials and political elites, it is simultaneously being contested by an antinuclear alliance consisting of multiple groups that form an organized resistance. The organized resistance is primarily driven by suspicions that the current government does not possess the capacity to handle high-risk technology. Using combined approaches of STS and social movement studies, the paper discusses the contestation of nuclear risk discourses and how lack of trust in the government has led to the ascendancy of antinuclear movements. In situating the paper within postauthoritarian Indonesia, this paper observes how shifts towards democratic change has allowed a network of civil society groups to organize resistance against nuclear power both at the national and local levels. The paper also highlights the way in which civic epistemology guides antinuclear groups to produce popular risk assessments that confront scientific calculations of nuclear risk. Lastly, it presents a vignette of how civil society groups mobilize local resources to explore alternative energy systems that ultimately undermine the government's nuclear ambitions.

Political opinion polling in post-authoritarian Indonesia: Catalyst or obstacle to democratic consolidation?

The introduction of democratic elections in Indonesia after the downfall of Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order regime in 1998 has triggered intensive scholarly debates about the competitiveness, credibility and representativeness of these ballots. The main focus of such discussions has understandably been on the primary actors in the elections – parties, individual candidates and voters. But this concentration on voting behaviour and electoral outcomes has shifted attention away from another development that is at least as significant in shaping Indonesia’s new democracy: that is, the remarkable proliferation of opinion pollsters and political consultants. The central role of opinion polls in post-Soeharto politics – and the diversity of views expressed in them – have challenged many of the conventional wisdoms held about the Indonesian electorate. The picture that emerges from the rapid spread of opinion polls in recent years, and from their profound impact on the political elite, points to an increasingly sophisticated (and diversified) electorate. The rise of opinion polls as key elements in electoral politics has been so fast and so consequential that Indonesia now faces the same dilemmas typically associated with the dominance of pollsters in consolidated Western democracies. This article discusses the implications of the rising importance of opinion polling for Indonesia’s consolidating democracy.

Islamic higher education and social cohesion in Indonesia

This study explores the role of public Islamic higher education in promoting better relations between various religious communities in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Based on field research conducted between December 2005 and March 2006, it documents how progressive Islamic education leaders have advanced a tradition of critical intellectualism in efforts toward the “renewal” of Islamic thought. This report provides an analysis of how this tradition has served as a foundation for educators seeking to promote democratization and address issues of social cohesion. It examines some of the core values expressed by educational leaders as they have aspired to transform the most prominent State Institutes for Islamic Studies (IAIN) into genuine universities. The study also highlights the conservative backlash against public Islamic higher education and other purveyors of progressive ideas within Indonesian society.

Modernity and the Mobile Phone

Modernity and the Mobile Phone