News

INSIGHT: Overtaking right-wing populism in Indonesia?

8 years ago Opinion
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.

Study Finds Indonesians Want Welfare State

8 years ago Coverage
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.

Facing bumps, but on the right track: Indonesia’s democratic progress

8 years ago Opinion
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.

Public opinion: Between 'haters' and 'lovers'

8 years ago Opinion
How can we understand the form of political participation among Indonesians over the past years? From a general impression, it would be easy for us to conclude that political participation has increased as political rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom to form association, are now guaranteed. The University of Gadjah Mada, in cooperation with Oslo University, held a 2014 democracy survey. The result of the survey conducted on 600 respondents indicated that political participation of the public in Indonesia has certainly advanced.

Smart Cabinet, not ‘slim’ or ‘fat’

9 years ago Opinion
There has been ongoing discourse regarding whether the next government should form a “fat” or “slim” Cabinet, but what we really need is a “smart” one. A smart Cabinet would ensure the government’s workability amid the country’s complexity. In our presidential system, the president is tasked with realizing his/her vision during his/her fixed term of five years. Therefore, the president’s Cabinet is a mere instrument to meet his/her promises. The idea of a smart Cabinet has become more important than ever as the governance paradigm here has shifted from controlling to steering. Its institutional setup has been highly decentralized.

Indonesia’s democratization stagnant but not lost

9 years ago Opinion
Fifteen years after Soeharto’s New Order, what of the efforts to create a democratic order? According to mainstream political scientists, democracy equals institutions for freedom and fair elections, Indonesia is a success story and liberal democracy is evolving. For radical political economists who say that such institutions are subordinate to material resources, Indonesia is ruled by oligarchs and shock therapy is needed. What would a more nuanced analysis look like?