Un Civil Society And Political Change In Indonesia

(Un) Civil Society and Political Change in Indonesia provides critical analysis of Indonesia’s civil society and its impact on the country’s democratization efforts that does not only take the classical, pro-democratic actors of civil society into account but also portrays uncivil groups and their growing influence on political processes. Beittinger-Lee offers a revised categorization of civil society, including a model to define the sphere of ‘uncivil society’ more closely and to identify several subcategories of uncivil society. This is the first book to portrays various uncivil groups in Indonesia, ranging from vigilantes, militias, paramilitaries, youth groups, civil security task forces and militant Islamic (and other religious) groups, ethnonationalist groups to terrorist organizations and groups belonging to organized crime. Moreover, it provides the reader with an overview of Indonesia’s history, its political developments after the democratic opening, main improvements under the various presidents since Suharto’s fall, constitutional amendments and key reforms in human rights legislation. This book will be of interest to upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in political science and Southeast Asian studies.

Indonesia enters the new millennium at a time of transition. It has experienced several crises - in particular the economic crisis of 1997-98, a severe intensification of its environmental degradation, and more recently the East Timor crisis, the ongoing Aceh demand for independence, the change of government from the autocratic Soeharto regime to one democratically elected and under the leadership of President Abdurrahman Wahid, and the outbreak of a number of violent communal conflicts. These crises were separate but have interlinked social and political dynamics. This major volume is the first wide-ranging analysis of recent developments. It analyses the social and political dimensions of reformation: poverty and income, environment and livelihood, civil society and legal institutions, and Islam and politics. Contributors include Indonesian and Australian scholars from a range of social science disciplines.

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.

Due to its popularity, this collection of conference papers has been reprinted. The text's title was also the focus of the conference which was held in 1988 at the Monash University in Australia. The articles collected in this book are quite heterogeneous, although they share the same concern, namely democratization process in Indonesia.

The book has eleven chapters, mostly by Indonesia-based analysts, plus a couple of wise old hands. Max Lane's overview chapter is excellent.

Since 1998, the transformation of Indonesia has led to far-reaching political and economic change: The democratization process introduced an amended constitution, multi-party and factional organization as well as participative procedures and administrative decentralization. A new understanding of the Indonesian civil society has evolved, the relationship between security forces (military and police) has been redefined, and focal topics have shifted to dealing with separatist movements, solving interethnic conflicts, and promoting good governance. Ongoing violations of human and minority rights, rather low anti-corruption performance and restrictions inhibiting the freedom of the press call for governmental action. This book investigates the opportunities and challenges of Indonesian reform initiatives in the many policy fields from various perspectives. The authors examine the obstacles faced by the government and the resulting challenges to implementing specific policies.