Table Of ContentThe Road from Authoritarianism
to Democratization
in Indonesia
The Road from Authoritarianism
to Democratization
in Indonesia
Paul J. Carnegie
THE ROAD FROM AUTHORITARIANISM TO DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA
Copyright © Paul J. Carnegie, 2010
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-10242-2
All rights reserved.
Maps from the United States Central Intelligence Agency’s World
Factbook.
First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
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ISBN 978-1-349-28675-1 ISBN 978-0-230-10774-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230107748
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carnegie, Paul J.
The road from authoritarianism to democratization in Indonesia /
Paul J. Carnegie.
p. cm.
1. Indonesia—Politics and government—1998–
2. Democratization—Indonesia. 3. Authoritarianism—Indonesia.
I. Title.
JQ776.C37 2009
320.9598—dc22
2009041615
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company
First edition: June 2010
Indonesia has changed beyond recognition. It has a working
parliament . . . a directly elected president, a free press, all kinds
of NGOs and pressure groups, and a very active civil society.
People who’ve been away from Indonesia and come back are
amazed to see all of these things that just wouldn’t have been
conceivable even fi ve years ago.
Edward McBride, The Economist, December 9, 2004
The new democracy is burdened, however, by a heavy legacy
from Indonesian history, especially from Suharto’s New Order,
which lasted more than three decades. For the quality of
post-Suharto democracy, the most critical of these legacies is
a deeply-entrenched tradition of patrimonial politics, which is
buttressed by the survival of powerful (political, bureaucratic,
military and business) interests rooted in the country’s New
Order past . . . the outcome of the ongoing contest for power
between these interests and the forces for deeper democratic
reform will determine whether the patrimonial democracy that
has developed . . . becomes a stable political order or evolves
into a more liberal system.
Douglas Webber, Joint Sessions of the European Consortium
of Political Research, Granada, April 14–19, 2005
Dedicated to I, J, M, M
Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Glossary xix
Part I
Introduction 3
Part II Framework for Interpreting Ambiguity
in Democratization
1 Democratization and Ambiguity 11
2 Democratization and Contextual Narratives 43
Part III Indonesian Democratization
3 Democratization and Politik Aliran 65
4 Democratization and Islamic Politics 81
5 Democratization and the Middle Classes 93
6 Democratization and the Party System 105
Part IV The Effect of Decentralization
7 Democratization and Decentralization 119
8 Conclusion 137
References 141
Index 165
Preface
The future stability and expansion of the democratic project has been
a major issue in the international community since the end of the
Cold War. Yet, the ambiguity of recent postauthoritarian settlements
raises many a perplexing question about the process. This led me to
consider how and why interpreting ambiguity matters in the study of
democratization. In the following book, I want to suggest that the
way we frame democratization is struggling to keep pace with chang-
ing realities. The implications of which are explored through mapping
Indonesia’s journey from authoritarianism. I hope this will generate
discussion on its dynamics of change and debates about democratiza-
tion more generally.
Acknowledgments
There are institutions and individuals that have made this book
possible. I would like to acknowledge the School of Political Science
and International Studies at the University of Queensland for giv-
ing me my initial opportunity to research Indonesian democratiza-
tion. First, in particular, thanks go to Associate Professor David
Martin Jones, Professor Paul Boreham, and Professor Stephen
Bell. Second, warm thanks go to Dr. Brendon O’Connor, Dr. Matt
McDonald, Dr. Morgan Brigg, Dr. David Hundt, Dr. John Mackenzie,
Dr. Barbara Sullivan, and Miss Jenny Gall for their advice and encour-
agement. Third, I would like to thank Professor Ahmed Hamza and
Professor David Kirby at The British University in Egypt for their
generous support of my academic endeavours. Fourth, thanks go
to Farideh Koohi-Kamali, Robyn Curtis, and Erin Ivy at Palgrave
Macmillan for their guidance, patience and professionalism. My
gratitude to all those who extended hospitality to me on my travels
through Indonesia and helped bring its beautiful diversity to life.
Finally, to friends and family, my heartfelt thanks for the emotional
support necessary to complete this book. You know who you are.
