Amid a global trend toward democratic regression, Indonesia seems to defy convention and stand out as a model of stability and progress. But despite free and fair elections, strong civil society and vibrant local economies, the country is struggling to implement key reforms, address rampant corruption, and improve its performance in global governance benchmarking.
The contributors to this volume explore the reasons for Indonesia’s democratic backsliding, examining the impact of arbitrary state crackdowns on freedom of expression and organization, deepening political polarization and populist mobilization, the dysfunction of key democratic institutions, and the erosion of checks and balances on executive power. They examine why this once-reviled island nation, which once stood as a beacon of democratic exceptionalism, now conforms to a global pattern of democracy in retreat.
Democracy in indonesia
While the formal frameworks of democracy and decentralization have been installed, implementing these structures is challenging in an environment that has inherited decades, if not centuries, of clientelistic and patrimonial governance. The country still ranks far below its regional peers in global rankings of good government, and is prone to high levels of corruption, widespread informality, and inefficient, fragmented administrative structures.
Nevertheless, a strong civil society and vibrant local economies, along with the political will of millions of voters, have created conditions for more open competition and higher public service standards. Incentives can be introduced to stimulate greater economic diversification, more reformist leadership, and stronger local media in Indonesia’s regions, which could boost its standing in international comparisons of governance and openness.
In terms of personal freedoms, are citizens protected from the arbitrary use of physical force and free to travel, change their place of residence or employment, and access education and health care? Government and police reportedly engage in arbitrary arrests and detentions, and existing safeguards against coerced confessions remain flawed. Intimidation by nonstate actors, including Islamist groups, remains a problem.
The right to freedom of opinion in public is guaranteed by the 1945 UUD and other laws, but its realization depends on the attitudes of public officials towards criticisms from society and journalists. Indonesian public officials should understand that the critics of their duties and performances are not their enemy, unless they are deemed to be defamatory or incite violence.
Although President Yudhoyono has struck favorable political bargains with secular and Islamic groups to sustain his consensual power base, he faces an uphill battle in advancing a comprehensive set of reform agendas. He has, for example, challenged the long-standing norm that a sitting president should stay above electoral politics by openly stumping for his rival in the 2024 presidential race, Prabowo Subianto. He has also been using the pandemic to push through controversial changes to the rules on presidential campaigning and to criminalize criticism of his administration.