Indonesian Politics And Society

Indonesia remains a country in transition even now, some two decades after its extraordinary shift from authoritarianism to democracy and from economic crisis to a rapidly growing economy. What explains the trajectory of that shift? What challenges does this island nation of 270 million people - with the world's largest Muslim population - face now, as the quality of democratic life erodes and it grapples with profound social and economic inequalities? Addressing these questions, the authors comprehensively explore the dynamics of Indonesia's politics, society, political economy, and culture, as well as its role in the international order.

Using an exhaustive selection of primary sources, this book presents a rich and textured picture of Indonesian politics and society from 1965 to the dramatic changes which have taken place in recent years. Providing a complete portrait of the Indonesian political landscape, this authoritative reader is an essential resource in understanding the history and contradictions of the New Order, current social and political conditions and the road ahead.

The turn of the century and the crossroads of reformasi presents a timely juncture for examining Indonesia's political, economic, and social history—both to evaluate current events and to chart the country's future course. Providing an up-to-date overview, this volume explores events, processes, and themes in contemporary Indonesia—including the evolution of political institutions and democracy, economic development and political economy, religious and social movements, political ideology, and the role of the armed forces. By holding a mirror to historical events, the authors add a rich dimension to our understanding of Indonesia and its problems, free from the exigencies of the present and the prejudices of the past.

Over the past two decades there has been a continuing debate among Western scholars concerning the nature of Indonesian politics and the best approaches for understanding them. Several of the most important contributions to this debate were never published and others have gone out of print. Thus, it has been difficult for a new generation of students of Indonesia to be aware of the range of opinions and discussion in Western academic circles concerning the character of postrevolutionary Indonesian politics. For this reason, it appeared to us useful to bring together a series of articles that can provide a framework for understanding the evolution of these perspectives. Clearly, we could not include all the important contributions to the debate, and this selection has been made on the basis of the best representation of differing views over time. In general the pieces appear in chronological sequence in order to delineate more clearly the evolution of the debate. To maintain this chronological development we have also made no changes in the arguments as originally presented, nor, with one exception, permitted the authors to do so, even when they have altered their opinions since originally writing the essays. Passages, however, have occasionally been cut from published articles where they are too repetitive, or where they are not relevant to the major themes being presented here. All such omissions are indicated by a series of dots (...). Because of the continuing nature of the debate, the collection is being published as an Interim Report which we hope will stimulate further reactions and analyses.

In Politics in Contemporary Indonesia, Ken M.P. Setiawan and Dirk Tomsa analyse the most prominent political ideas, institutions, interests and issues that shape Indonesian politics today. Guided by the overarching question whether Indonesia still deserves its famous label as a ‘model Muslim democracy’, the book argues that the most serious threats to Indonesian democracy emanate from the fading appeal of democracy as a compelling narrative, the increasingly brazen capture of democratic institutions by predatory interests, and the narrowing public space for those who seek to defend the values of democracy. In so doing, the book answers the following key questions: What are the dominant political narratives that underpin Indonesian politics? How has Indonesia’s institutional framework evolved since the onset of democratisation in 1998? How do competing political interests weaken or strengthen Indonesian democracy? How does declining democracy affect Indonesia’s prospects for dealing with its main policy challenges? How does Indonesia compare to other Muslim-majority states and to its regional neighbours? Up-to-date, comprehensive and written in an accessible style, this book will be of interest for both students and scholars of Indonesian politics, Asian Studies, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

This Is The Modest Attempt Towards Understanding The Intricacies Of Indonesian Society And Politics. Indonesia Is Witnessing Transition From Authoritarianism To Democracy. Political Culture Is Changing And Multiparty System Have Emerged. Democratic Inst

The end of authoritarian rule in 1998 ushered in an exhilarating but unsettled period of democratization in Indonesia. A more open political climate converged with a rapidly changing media landscape, yielding a vibrant and volatile public sphere within which Indonesians grappled with the possibilities and limits of democracy amid entrenched corruption, state violence, and rising forms of intolerance. In Demanding Images Karen Strassler theorizes image-events as political processes in which publicly circulating images become the material ground of struggles over the nation's past, present, and future. Considering photographs, posters, contemporary art, graffiti, selfies, memes, and other visual media, she argues that people increasingly engage with politics through acts of making, circulating, manipulating, and scrutinizing images. Demanding Images is both a closely observed account of Indonesia's turbulent democratic transition and a globally salient analysis of the work of images in the era of digital media and neoliberal democracy. Strassler reveals politics today to be an unruly enterprise profoundly shaped by the affective and evidentiary force of images.