With the vote for Donald Trump and Brexit, it is common knowledge that increasingly large numbers of people affected by the ills of unregulated globalization are drawn to populist right wing nationalism rather than mainstream liberalism and social democracy. This challenge applies to the Global South too. In India, for example, the Hindu fundamentalists’ identity politics is thriving along with their own private provisioning of social services and neo-liberal oriented economic policies, thus nurturing a local version of the American dream.

Jakarta. Concerns over welfare issues including health, education and social insurance have topped a recent study investigating the role of the government and welfare throughout Indonesia. Around 55 percent of respondents of the survey, which was conducted by the Research Center for Politics and Government of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in 2013, deemed services such as housing and transportation are a top priority for the public.

ANALYSIS: Indonesia’s democratic progress is bumpy, but on the right track While there is much work to be done, among Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia is one of the few countries that shows genuine democratic progress Members of Indonesia’s civil society organizations were euphoric when the country elected Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a political outsider, as president. But two years into his presidency, old-style political horse-trading has tempered the initial high expectations of a better way of doing politics in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority nation.

Kerjasama Penerbitan PWD dengan PRISMA 0 Jurnal Pemikiran Sosial Ekonomi Volume 36 2017

Why is Indonesia by late 2016 suddenly so far from Jokowi's Solo model of negotiating social contracts, which even produced a president in favour of change? And why are we now so far from the broad alliances of unions, CSOs and progressive politicians that produced a universal social insurance system? Why have the dynamics of Jakarta rather become more reminiscent of Donald Trump and European right-wing populist politicians’ ability to gain substantial support from not just extremists and racists but also the neglected working class? And what are the prospects, then, if any, for popular politics?  

This is a report on the state of democracy and democratisation in Indonesia. It provides recently assembled, critical accounts on the achievements toward, as well as challenges to democratisation in the country. English & Indonesian Language

This book engages readers with an analysis of democratisation and contestations of democracy in Indonesia. It observes the possible and necessary contextual practices within all political corners that transform welfare into a political issue. The book’s contributors not only present represent pro-democracy segment; they also share their experiences and skills to accelerate movement towards democracy. This book is a compilation of narrations outlining the struggle of pro-democracy actors to politicise democracy. It presents their variant strategies to direct democratisation toward welfare. Fifteen cases from several regions in Indonesia demonstrate that democracy welfare cannot materialise without public control over welfare management.