Politics And The Media In Twenty First Century Indonesia

Every political aspirant and activist knows the media are important. But there is little agreement on how an increasingly diversified media operate in post-authoritarian transitions and how they might promote, or impede, the pathways to a sustainable liberal democracy in the 21st century. This book examines the role of the media during Indonesia’s longest experiment with democratisation. It addresses two important and related questions: how is the media being transformed, both in terms of its structure and content, by the changing political economy of Indonesia after the fall of Suharto? And what is the potential impact of this media in enabling or hampering the development of democracy in Indonesia? The book explores the relation between the working of democratisation, by examining the role of ethnic identity and nationalism; increasingly cheaper and diversified means of media production, challenging state monopolies of the media; the reality of personalised and globalised media; and the challenging of the connection between a free media and democracy by global capitalism and corporate control of the media. The book argues that the dominant forces transforming Indonesia today did not arise from the singular point of Suharto’s resignation, but from a set of factors which are independent from, but linked to, Indonesia’s internal politics and which shape its cultural industries.

Media, Culture, and Politics in Indonesia is about the institutions and policies that determine what Indonesians write, read, watch, and hear. It covers the print media, broadcast radio and television, computers and the internet, videos, films and music. This book argues that the texts of the media can be understood in two broad ways: 1. as records of a "national" culture and political hegemony constructed by Suharto's New Order and 2. as contradictory, dissident, political and cultural aspirations that reflect the anxieties and preoccupations of Indonesian citizens. Media, Culture, and Politics, now brought back to life as a member of Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series, explains what has escaped state control, not only by self-conscious resistance, but also because of the ownership patterns, technologies, and modes of consumption of media texts and institutions. The role of the media in the downfall of Suharto is examined and the legacy of his New Order is analyzed. This dynamic and innovative text is suitable for all students of Indonesian languages and culture, Asian studies, Southeast Asian studies, cultural studies, media studies, and contemporary politics. Krishna Sen is Professor of Asian Media and Dean of the Humanities Research Centre at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia David T. Hill is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies and Fellow of the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia

Every political aspirant and activist knows the media are important. But there is little agreement on how an increasingly diversified media operate in post-authoritarian transitions and how they might promote, or impede, the pathways to a sustainable liberal democracy in the 21st century. This book examines the role of the media during Indonesia’s longest experiment with democratisation. It addresses two important and related questions: how is the media being transformed, both in terms of its structure and content, by the changing political economy of Indonesia after the fall of Suharto? And what is the potential impact of this media in enabling or hampering the development of democracy in Indonesia? The book explores the relation between the working of democratisation, by examining the role of ethnic identity and nationalism; increasingly cheaper and diversified means of media production, challenging state monopolies of the media; the reality of personalised and globalised media; and the challenging of the connection between a free media and democracy by global capitalism and corporate control of the media. The book argues that the dominant forces transforming Indonesia today did not arise from the singular point of Suharto’s resignation, but from a set of factors which are independent from, but linked to, Indonesia’s internal politics and which shape its cultural industries.

Successful transitions to enduring democracy are both difficult and rare. In Scandal and Democracy, Mary E. McCoy explores how newly democratizing nations can avoid reverting to authoritarian solutions in response to the daunting problems brought about by sudden change. The troubled transitions that have derailed democratization in nations worldwide make this problem a major concern for scholars and citizens alike. This study of Indonesia's transition from authoritarian rule sheds light on the fragility not just of democratic transitions but of democracy itself and finds that democratization's durability depends, to a surprising extent, on the role of the media, particularly its airing of political scandal and intraelite conflict. More broadly, Scandal and Democracy examines how the media's use of new freedoms can help ward off a slide into pseudodemocracy or a return to authoritarian rule. As Indonesia marks the twentieth anniversary of its democratic revolution of 1998, it remains among the world's most resilient new democracies and one of the few successful democratic transitions in the Muslim world. McCoy explains the media's central role in this change and corroborates that finding with comparative cases from Mexico, Tunisia, and South Korea, offering counterintuitive insights that help make sense of the success and failure of recent transitions to democracy.

The Press in New Order Indonesia is the most comprehensive book available in English on the print media during the Suharto presidency. Based on detailed and investigative research, it provides a succinct introduction to the political and economic forces shaping this dominant sector of the Indonesian media at a pivotal time in its development. The study documents the history of the press prior to the rise of President Suharto, surveys the changing New Order policies to the media, and analyses the various modes of control exercised through powerful government agencies and industry bodies. Throughout this critical historical period of political tension and economic transition, The Press in New Order Indonesia traces the development of huge media conglomerates which began to rival military muscle in shaping the media landscape of Indonesia. This study explains how the student press spilled off the campuses to play a unique political role. By contrast, a distinctly Islamic press achieved only very modest success. Focusing on Indonesian-language national daily newspapers, it also discusses news weeklies, periodicals and magazines, as well as publications in regional languages, English and Chinese. Brought back to life in Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series, The Press in New Order Indonesia is required reading for students of Indonesian languages and cultures, Asian studies, Southeast Asian studies, media studies, journalism, and contemporary politics. David T. Hill is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies and Fellow of the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia.

Indonesia, a nation of thousands of islands and almost 250 million people, straddles the junction of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has presided over 6 per cent average yearly growth of its economy, to surpass $1 trillion. If this rate continues, Indonesia will join the world's ten biggest economies in a decade or so, just behind the so-called BRIC countries. The much-discussed recent documentary The Act of Killing revived some of its darker past, and Barack Obama's reminiscences about the childhood years he spent there briefly shone the spotlight on a country many Americans know little about. Yet as Indonesia approaches its 2014 parliamentary and presidential elections, its future is wide open. Though the largest Muslim nation by population, it remains a receiver of wisdom from the Arab world, rather than a messenger of multi-religious tolerance. Its pursuit of trade agreements with Japan and South Korea have burnished its economic ambitions, but its diplomacy is long on so-called "soft power," and short on sanctions or force. So what does the future hold for this pivotal place? Award-winning Asia-Pacific journalist Hamish McDonald's Demokrasi is an accessible and authoritative introduction to the modern history and politics of this fascinating country.

This book explores the evolving political culture in Indonesia, by discussing the country's dominant political philosophies, then showing how those philosophies affect the working lives of ordinary Indonesian citizens. It focuses in particular on the working lives of news journalists, a group that occupies a strategic social and political position.