Stagnation or Transformation in jokowi's Indonesia?

Olle Trnquist*

Indonesia is hailed as a rare showcase 'new democracy.' Despite a background of dictatorship, massacres, corruption, extractive growth and dizzying inequality, Indonesia is now the freest country in Southeast Asia, combining vibrant elections with political stability and economic growth. This month even saw the presidential inauguration of former modest local businessman and 'clean' Solo Mayor and Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo after a bitterly contested campaign against superrich oligarch Prabowo Subianto, the former Special Forces general and son-in-law of Suharto. But Jokowi's victory highlights also the limits of Indonesian democracy and the need for substantive reform.

Observers agree on Indonesia's successes and problems. There are relative economic, civil and political freedoms. Identity politics has been contained and most dominant political actors have been reconciled to the democratic 'rules of the game.' However, corruption and cronyism persist, and the pace of reforms has stagnated. There are three major ways of thinking about this. The liberal view is that Indonesia proves the possibility of designing democracy and that its problems, while real, are no worse than anywhere else in the Global South or during the democratization in the Global North. Reforms such as more public funding of parties and efforts by civil-society activists and union leaders to enter mainstream politics will eventually take the country toward full liberal democracy.

November 18, 2014