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The Illiberal Turn in Indonesian Democracy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Iqra Anugrah
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Abstract

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Two decades after authoritarian breakdown and democratic transition in 1998, how does the trajectory of Indonesian democracy look? By reflecting on the state of Indonesian politics in the last 15 years, this paper will argue that despite many improvements, Indonesian democracy has experienced a slow process of decline and a deepening of illiberal tendencies. This poses a major challenge for the quality of Indonesian democracy in the near future.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 18 , Issue 8 , April 2020 , e1
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
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Copyright © The Authors 2020

References

Notes

1 Devina Heriyanto, “No, Indonesian students are not taking to the streets only to fight sex ban”, The Jakarta Post, 27 September 2019 (https://www.thejakartapost.com/community/2019/09/27/no-indonesian-students-not-taking-to-streets-only-to-fight-sex-ban.html).

2 Ben Bland, “Indonesia's incredible elections: why Indonesian elections are unlike any other in the world”, Lowy Institute, 2019 (https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/indonesia-votes-2019/); Ben Bland, “Indonesia: don't over react to Jakarta violence”, The Interpreter at Lowy Institute, 24 May 2019 (https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/indonesia-don-t-over-react-jakarta-violence).

3 For more details, see Addi M Idhom, “Isi RUU KUHP dan Pasal Kontroversial Penyebab Demo Mahasiswa Meluas”, Tirto.id, 25 September 2019 (https://tirto.id/isi-ruu-kuhp-dan-pasal-kontroversial-penyebab-demo-mahasiswa-meluas-eiFu).

4 On mass protests and riots in Papua, see Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Karina M. Tehusijarana, “Jokowi sidesteps riots, human rights on Papua trip”, The Jakarta Post, 28 October 2019 (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/28/jokowi-sidesteps-riots-human-rights-on-papua-trip.html).

5 On the notion of democratic stability understood as democracy becoming the only game in town, see Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, “Toward Consolidated Democracies,” Journal of Democracy 7, no. 2 (1996): 14-30, especially 15-16. On the idea of democratic consolidation as the system where parties lose power, see Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 10.

6 Saiful Mujani, R. William Liddle, and Kuskridho Ambardi, Voting Behavior in Indonesia since Democratization: Critical Democrats (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018).

7 Guillermo A. O'Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter, Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), 12.

8 Evelyne Huber, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and John D. Stephens. “The Paradoxes of Contemporary Democracy: Formal, Participatory, and Social Dimensions,” Comparative Politics 29, no, 3 (1997): 323-342.

9 C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (New York: Oxford University Press, 1956) and John T. Sidel. “Economic Foundations of Subnational Authoritarianism: Insights and Evidence from Qualitative and Quantitative Research,” Democratization 21, no. 1, (2014): 161-184.

10 David Adam Stott. “Indonesia's 2019 Elections: Democracy Consolidated?” The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus 17, no. 6 (2019): https://apjjf.org/2019/06/Stott2.html

11 Edward Aspinall and Marcus Mietzner. “Southeast Asia's Troubling Elections: Nondemocratic Pluralism in Indonesia,” Journal of Democracy 30, no. 4 (2019): 104-118.

12 For instance see Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot, Democracy for Sale: Elections, Clientelism, and the State in Indonesia (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2019) and Marcus Mietzner, “Indonesia: Why Democratization Has not Reduced Corruption,” in Handbook on the Geographies of Corruption, ed. Barney Warf (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018), 350-364.

13 Keep in mind, for example, that the Megawati presidency (2001-2004) relaunched a massive counterinsurgency effort against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) in Aceh Province, a policy that caused substantial internal displacement of local residents and numerous human rights violations. On this issue, see Husein Abdulsalam, “Catatan Kekerasan HAM pada Zaman Megawati Berkuasa,” Tirto.id, 8 September 2017 (https://tirto.id/catatan-kekerasan-ham-pada-zaman-megawati-berkuasa-cwbD).

14 For key references on oligarchic interests in Indonesian politics, see Richard Robison and Vedi R. Hadiz, Reorganising Power in Indonesia: The Politics of Oligarchy in an Age of Markets (London and New York: Routledge, 2004) and Jeffrey A. Winters, Oligarchy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011). On the importance of measuring the influence of money in democracy, see Adam Przeworski, “Capitalism, Democracy, Science,” in Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics, eds. Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007), 456-503.

15 Jonathan A. Fox. “Editor's Introduction-The Challenge of Rural Democratization: Perspectives from Latin America and the Philippines,” Journal of Development Studies 26, no. 4 (1990): 1-18.

16 See for example Frances Hagopian, “The Politics of Oligarchy: The Persistence of Traditional Elites in Contemporary Brazil” (PhD Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986) and Adaner Usmani. “Democracy and the Class Struggle,” American Journal of Sociology 124, no. 3 (2018): 664-704l.

17 Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa, “The Moderating President: Yudhoyono's Decade in Power,” in The Yudhoyono's Presidency: Indonesia's Decade of Stability and Stagnation, eds. Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa (Singapore: ISEAS, 2015), 1-21.

18 On cartelistic tendencies among Indonesian political parties, see Kuskridho Ambardi, Mengungkap Politik Kartel: Studi Tentang Sistem Kepartaian di Indonesia Era Reformasi (Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, 2009) and Dan Slater. “Party Cartelization, Indonesian Style: Presidential Power Sharing and the Contingency of Democratic Opposition,” Journal of East Asian Studies 18, no. 1 (2018): 23-46.

19 Dan Slater and Joshua Wong. “The Strength to Concede: Ruling Parties and Democratization in Developmental Asia,” Perspectives on Politics 11, no. 3 (2013): 729 and BBC News Indonesia, “SBY perkuat Koalisi, Aburizal jadi ketua harian,” 8 May 2010 (https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/berita_indonesia/2010/05/100508_sbyperkuatkoalisi).

20 On Indonesia's commodity boom under Yudhoyono's presidency especially in coal and palm oil sectors, see Hal Hill, “The Indonesian Economy during the Yudhoyono Decade,” in The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia's Decade of Stability and Stagnation, eds. Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa (Singapore: ISEAS, 2015), 281-302.

21 Michael Buehler, “The reassertion of the state,” New Mandala, 30 September 2014 (https://www.newmandala.org/the-reassertion-of-the-state/)

22 Sabrina Asril, “Batalkan Pilkada Tak Langsung, Presiden SBY Terbitkan 2 Perppu!” Kompas.com, 2 October 2014 (https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2014/10/02/21435921/Batalkan.Pilkada.Tak.Langsung.Presiden.SBY.Terbitkan.2.Perppu.)

23 Sabrina Asril, “Batalkan Pilkada Tak Langsung, Presiden SBY Terbitkan 2 Perppu!” Kompas.com, 2 October 2014 (https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2014/10/02/21435921/Batalkan.Pilkada.Tak.Langsung.Presiden.SBY.Terbitkan.2.Perppu.)

24 Melani Budianta, Kamala Chandrakirana, and Andy Yetriyani, “Yudhoyono's Politics and the Harmful Implications for Gender Equality in Indonesia,” in The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia's Decade of Stability and Stagnation, eds Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa (Singapore: ISEAS, 2015), 199-216 and Robin Bush, “Religious Politics and Minority Rights during the Yudhoyono Presidency,” in The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia's Decade of Stability and Stagnation, eds Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa (Singapore: ISEAS, 2015), 239-257.

25 Robin Bush, “Religious Politics and Minority Rights during the Yudhoyono Presidency,” 245-254.

26 Liputan 6, “Majelis Zikir SBY Berdoa buat Bangsa,” 11 February 2005 (https://www.liputan6.com/news/read/95426/majelis-zikir-sby-berdoa-buat-bangsa).

27 Sasaki Takuo, “The Politics of Moderate Islam: From the Rise of Yudhoyono to the Ahmadiyah Decree,” in Islam in Contention: Rethinking Islam and State in Indonesia, eds Ota Atsushi, Okamoto Masaaki, and Ahmad Suaedy (Jakarta/Kyoto/Taipei: Wahid Institute, CSEAS Kyoto, CAPAS, 2010), 255-281, especially 266-268.

28 See for instance Abubakar Eby Hara, “Pancasila and the Perda Syari'ah Debates in the Post-Suharto Era: Toward a New Political Consensus,” in Islam in Contention: Rethinking Islam and State in Indonesia, eds Ota Atsushi, Okamoto Masaaki, and Ahmad Suaedy (Jakarta/Kyoto/Taipei: Wahid Institute, CSEAS Kyoto, CAPAS, 2010), 35-75, especially 60 and Abdur Rozaki, “The Pornography Law and the Politics of Sexuality,” in Islam in Contention: Rethinking Islam and State in Indonesia, eds Ota Atsushi, Okamoto Masaaki, and Ahmad Suaedy (Jakarta/Kyoto/Taipei: Wahid Institute, CSEAS Kyoto, CAPAS 2010), 121-138, especially 133.

29 Secular or religiously-moderate politicians' appeasement to Islamist pressure and agenda is not unique to Yudhoyono. They feel the need to do so because they perceive that Islamic groups with conservative agendas have the ability to mobilize voters. Whether these groups really have mass bases might not matter so much; what matters is the aappearance of it. For a thorough treatment on this topic, see Michael Buehler, The Politics of Shari'a Law: Islamist Activists and the State in Democratizing Indonesia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).

30 Jeffrey Winters. “Oligarchy and Democracy in Indonesia,” Indonesia 96 (2013): 11-33, especially 27-28.

31 John McBeth, “SBY's dynastic ambitions,” The Strategist, 27 February 2017 (https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/sbys-dynastic-ambitions/)

32 Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, Catatan Akhir Tahun 2014: Membenahi Masalah Agraria – Prioritas Kerja Jokowi-JK Pada 2015 (Jakarta: Sekretariat Nasional Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, 2014).

33 On these agricultural statistics, see Pusat Data dan Sistem Informasi Pertanian, Statistik Lahan Pertanian Tahun 2010-2014 (Jakarta: Kementerian Pertanian, 2015).

34 This sentiment is confirmed by many members of peasant unions and agrarian activists in various regions whom I interviewed during fieldwork in Indonesia from mid-2015 to mid-2017 and from late-2018 to mid-2019.

35 On Yudhoyono's conditional cash transfer and land title certification policies, see Chris Manning and Riyana Miranti, “The Yudoyono Legacy on Jobs, Poverty and Income Distribution: A Mixed Record,” in The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia's Decade of Stability and Stagnation, eds. Edward Aspinall, Marcus Mietzner, and Dirk Tomsa (Singapore: ISEAS, 2015), 303-324, especially 313-316 and Noer Fauzi Rachman, “The Resurgence of Land Reform Policy and Agrarian Movements in Indonesia” (PhD Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 2011, especially chapter 4) respectively.

36 On Prabowo's profile and oeuvre, see Edward Aspinall. “Oligarchic Populism and Economic Nationalism: Prabowo Subianto's Challenge to Indonesian Democracy,” Indonesia 99 (2015): 1-28.

37 For further elaboration on the social base of Jokowi's political ascendancy and his developmentalist orientation, see Max Lane, Decentralization and Its Discontents: An Essay on Class, Political Agency and National Perspective in Indonesian Politics (Singapore: ISEAS, 2014) and Eve Warburton. “Jokowi and the New Developmentalism,” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 52, no. 3 (2017): 297-320 respectively.

38 Dan Slater. “Party Cartelization, Indonesian Style.”

39 On the notion of promiscuous power sharing, see Dan Slater and Erica Simmons. “Coping by Colluding: Political Uncertainty and Promiscuous Powersharing in Indonesia and Bolivia,” Comparative Political Studies 46, no. 11 (2012): 1366-1393.

40 Eve Warburton. “Jokowi and the New Developmentalism.”

41 See for instance Vedi R. Hadiz. “Indonesia's Year of Democratic Setbacks: Towards a New Phase of Deepening Illiberalism?” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 53, no. 3 (2017): 261-278 especially page 274 and Ihsanuddin, “Bertemu Jokowi, Petani Kendeng ini Menangis Tuntutannya Tak Dipenuhi,” Kompas.com, 22 March 2017 (https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2017/03/22/15154681/bertemu.jokowi.petani.kendeng.ini. menangis.tuntutannya.tak.dipenuhi?page=all).

42 Tom Power. “Jokowi's Authoritarian Turn and Indonesia's Democratic Decline,” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 54, no. 3 (2018): 307-338.

43 Marcus Miezner. “Fighting Illiberalism with Illiberalism: Islamist Populism and Democratic Deconsolidation in Indonesia,” Pacific Affairs 91, no. 2 (2018): 261-282, especially page 261.

44 David Adam Stott. “Indonesia's 2019 Elections: Democracy Consolidated?”

45 Luke Gibson. “Toward a More Equal Indonesia,” Oxfam Briefing Paper, February 2017, 1-47, especially 2.

46 Luke Gibson. “Toward a More Equal Indonesia,” 2.

47 Matthew Wai-Poi, “Rising Divide: Why Inequality is Increasing and What Needs to be Done,” 31 May 2016 (https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/rising-divide-why-inequality-is-increasing-and-what-needs-to-be-done/) and Asep Suryahadi, “Is Higher Inequality the New Normal for Indonesia?” 27 November 2018 (https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/is-higher-inequality-the-new-normal-for-indonesia/).

48 Koalisi Bersihkan Indonesia, Coalruption: Shedding Light on Political Corruption in Indonesia's Coal Mining Sector (Jakarta: Koalisi Bersihkan Indonesia, 2018).

49 Jaringan Advokasi Tambang, “2019 Election is Driven by Mining and Energy's Business Interest,” 12 February 2019 (http://www.jatam.org/2019/02/12/2019-election-is-driven-by-mining-and-energy-s-business-interest/).

50 Iqra Anugrah, “Movements for Land Rights in Democratic Indonesia,” in Activists in Transition: Progressive Politics in Democratic Indonesia, eds. Thushara Dibley and Michele Ford (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019), 79-98.

51 Iqra Anugrah, “Farmers, fishers and local folk a casualty in Indonesia's embrace with vested interests,” Channel News Asia, 22 June 2019 (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/farmers-fishers-local-folk-interested-in-indonesia-elections-11535260)

52 On Jokowi's handling of rural protests, see for example Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, Masa Depan Reforma Agraria Melampaui Tahun Politik: Catatan Akhir Tahun 2018 Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (Jakarta: Sekretariat Nasional Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria, 2019).

53 Edward Aspinall and Marcus Mietzner. “Indonesian Politics in 2014: Democracy's Close Call,” Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies 50, no. 3 (2014): 347-369.

54 “Indonesia Sees Record Turnout in Historic Election, Braces for Fallout,” The Jakarta Globe, 17 April 2019 (https://jakartaglobe.id/context/indonesia-sees-record-turnout-in-historic-election-braces-for-fallout).

55 Personal conversation with activists in Jakarta, August 2019.

56 See Akbar Ridwan, “Satu Buruh dan 8 Mahasiswa Masih Ditahan Polisi,” Alinea.id, 16 August 2019 (https://www.alinea.id/nasional/satu-buruh-dan-8-mahasiswa-masih-ditahan-polisi-b1XkZ9m2S) and KontraS, “Bebaskan Semua Tahanan Politik Papua dan Wujudkan Perdamaian di Papua Berdasarkan Undang-undang Otonomi Khusus Papua,” Kontras.org, 13 September 2019 (https://kontras.org/2019/09/13/bebaskan-semua-tahanan-politik-papua-dan-wujudkan-perdamaian-di-papua-berdasarkan-mandat-undang-undang-otonomi-khusus-papua/).

57 Devina Heriyanto, “No, Indonesian students are not taking to the streets only to fight sex ban.”

58 Eve Warburton, “Indonesia's pro-democracy protests cut across deep political cleavages,” New Mandala, 3 October 2019 (https://www.newmandala.org/indonesias-pro-democracy-protests/).

59 Stanley Widianto, “Indonesia president says no plan to drop controversial anti-graft bill,” Reuters, 1 November 2019 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-corruption/indonesia-president-says-no-plan-to-drop-controversial-anti-graft-bill-idUSKBN1XB43K).

60 Benedict Anderson, The Spectre of Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia, and the World (London and New York: Verso, 1998), 267.

61 For a full list of Jokowi's new cabinet, see Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, “Breaking: Jokowi announces his new Cabinet. Here's the line up,” The Jakarta Post, 23 October 2019 (https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/23/breaking-jokowis-new-cabinet-announced-here-is-the-lineup.html).

62 Liam Gammon, “What was that election for again?” New Mandala, 25 October 2019 (https://www.newmandala.org/what-was-that-election-for-again/)

63 Curie Maharani and Evan A. Laksmana, “Prabowo's Uphill Tasks as Indonesia's New Defense Minister,” The Diplomat, 31 October 2019 (https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/prabowos-uphill-tasks-as-indonesias-new-defense-minister/).

64 Aaron Connelly and Evan A. Laksmana, “Jokowi Offers Prabowo a Piece of the Pie,” Foreign Policy, 31 October 2019 (https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/31/indonesia-democracy-general-jokowi-offers-prabowo-a-piece-of-the-pie/).

65 See https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/indonesia.

66 Dan Slater and Maya Tudor, “Why Religious Tolerance Won in Indonesia but Lost in India,” Foreign Affairs, 3 July 2019 (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/india/2019-07-03/why-religious-tolerance-won-indonesia-lost-india).

67 Edward Aspinall. “Democratization and Ethnic Politics in Indonesia: Nine Theses,” Journal of East Asian Studies 11, no. 2 (2011): 289-319.

68 Edward Aspinall. “The Surprising Democratic Behemoth: Indonesia in Comparative Asian Perspective,” Journal of Asian Studies 74, no. 4 (2015): 889-902.

69 On this point, see Joshua Kurlantzick, “Southeast Asia Recap 2018: Democracy Continues to Suffer,” Council on Foreign Relations, 21 December 2018 (https://www.cfr.org/blog/southeast-asia-recap-2018-democracy-continues-suffer), Robert R. Kaufman and Stephen Haggard. “Democratic Decline in the United States: What Can We Learn from Middle-Income Backsliding?” Perspectives on Politics 17, no. 2 (2019): 417-432, and Vedi R. Hadiz and Angelos Chryssogelos. “Populism in World Politics: A Comparative Cross-Regional Perspective,” International Political Science Review 38, no. 4.

70 Jefferson Ng, “Jokowi's Macron Moment: Moving Fast of Moving Together?” New Mandala, 29 January 2020 (https://www.newmandala.org/jokowis-macron-moment/).