Indonesian Perspectives on Democracy

This book discusses the extent to which Indonesia's trajectory to democracy has changed its direction toward democratic consolidation. In the case of democratic decline in Indonesia, there are numerous studies conducted in order to explain the challenges facing democratization. However, not many of them demonstrate the existing precursors and symptoms of democratic decline, which this book confronts. The authors unpack the problems that continue to hinder Indonesia's path to democratic consolidation and show that against this decline, Indonesia has experienced a new phase of its democratic life during, and in the immediate aftermath of, the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby the political ecosystem has seen a strengthening of the role of the state. This has, in fact, further complicated Indonesia's democratic transition. This book explains how these challenges impact Indonesia’s trajectory to democracy, drawing from three important approaches of democratic regime studies, encompassing actors, institutions, and norms. These aspects are elaborated upon in relation to various issues facing the country, thus capturing a sweeping picture of the political struggles preventing democratic growth. Relevant to researchers and students studying countries in democratic transition, but particularly the case of Indonesia, this is a novel contribution to understanding the country's developing political landscape.