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THE DECADE BETWEEN 1968 AND 1978 was a period of remarkable activity in the state's use of scientific knowledge about sex, gender, and sexuality to define individual bodies in Indonesia. [...]

It is generally perceived that administrative decentralization reform in young democracies is a promise to improve democracy from below. Yet, in terms of democratic development, the impact of this process is ambivalent, and can be described as a paradox of reform. This article argues that preemptive countermeasures that offset problems predicted to emerge as the reform proceeds should be formulated as part of the reform through introducing a preventive policy paradigm in the area of democratic reform policy. This is to alleviate or prevent the creation of the paradox and to contribute to democratic development through enhancing people's satisfaction with the newly democratized government. To this end, this study examines administrative decentralization reform in South Korea and Indonesia and uncovers these reforms' paradoxes. These two cases are particularly worthy of study, since their young democratic governments lack countermeasures against predictable reform problems, intensifying the paradox. I argue that the implications drawn from these two cases for methods of enhancing democratic development in other young democracies are worth heeding.Keywords: Administrative Decentralization Reform, Young Democracies, Asia, Democratization, Paradox, Democratic Development, Preventive Policy Paradigm, Regional Egoism, Corruption, South Korea, Indonesia.En general, se percibe que la reforma de descentralizacion administrativa en las democracias jovenes es una promesa para mejorar la democracia desde abajo. Sin embargo, en terminos de desarrollo democrdtico, el impacto de este proceso es ambivalente y se puede describir como una paradoja de la reforma. Este articulo sostiene que las medidas preventivas que compensan los problemas que se preve que surjan a medida que avanza la reforma deben formularse como parte de la reforma mediante la introduccion de un paradigma de politica preventiva en el area de la politica de reforma democrdtica. Esto espara aliviar o prevenir la creacion de la paradoja y contribuir al desarrollo democrdtico mediante la mejora de la satisfaccion de las personas con el gobierno recientemente democratizado. Con este fin, este estudio examina la reforma de la descentralizacion administrativa en Corea del Sur e Indonesia y descubre las paradojas de las reformas. Por ultimo, senala las implicaciones en los metodos para mejorar el desarrollo democrdtico en las democracias jovenes. Se adopto un enfoque de estrategia multiple, que incluyo una entrevista en profundidad y la recopilacion de datos secundarios, con el fin de mejorar la validez y la fiabilidad del estudio.Palabras clave: Reforma de la Descentralizacion Administrativa, Democracias Jovenes, Asia, Democratization, Paradoja, Desarrollo Democratico, Paradigma de Politica Preventiva, Egoismo Regional, Corruption, Corea del Sur, Indonesia.[phrase ommited], People in newly democratized countries often view democracy in terms of prosperity, peace, and stability (Pietsch and Clark 2015), and have 'illusions' that democratization will bring them closer to these [...]

This research note analyses the rising importance of political advertisements on television in Indonesian electoral politics. It surveys the ways in which presidential candidates presented themselves to the public during the 2009 elections, as well as the candidates' efforts in cultivating an appealing image for mass consumption. This note concludes that political advertising outperformed print and radio media, and that candidates were likely to construct public images of themselves with traits like nationalism and empathy for the poor in order to attract voters. Keywords: Indonesia, presidential elections 2009, political advertisements, campaigns., The 2009 elections marked the second time the presidential contest was determined by popular vote. The increasing intertwining of television and politics has made it necessary for presidential candidates to [...]

IT IS HARD FOR A NATION OF 240 MILLION, AND ONE that is overwhelmingly Muslim and a democracy at that, to slip beneath the radar, but until recently that has [...]

State interventions in the family under Suharto's New Order were pervasive and deep, from education to the local delivery of social welfare through citizen-housewives. In the heady and chaotic period since the end of Suharto's regime in the late 1990s, there has been an explosion of programmes aimed at early childhood in response to transnational initiatives that suggest a new global child. Local women as wives and mothers are once again involved in the delivery of these programmes. Based on fieldwork in Yogyakarta, Java, this article considers stabilities and changes in non-governmental governance of families in Indonesia in the context of the democratization. New early childhood programmes illustrate forms of transnational governance, including corporate day care and international regimes of expertise on children. Yet, the re-purposing of New Order forms of governmentality now in neo-liberal forms suggests great continuity in forms of rule through the family in Indonesia, even in the era of democratic reform. Keywords: non-governmental governance; democratization; liberal and neo-liberal governmentality; early childhood; family; Indonesia; expertise. DOI: 10.1080/03085147.2010.486217

This article proposes the concept of an extractive regime to understand Indonesia's developmental trajectory, from 1966 to 1998. The concept contributes to world-systems, globalization, and commodity-based approaches to understanding peripheral development. An extractive regime is defined by its reliance on extraction of multiple natural resources in the formation of an economic and political order that is also supported by global and regional forces. After elaborating the concept of an extractive regime, the article illustrates it through examination of Indonesia's developmental trajectory from its formation in the post--World War II era to its firm establishment during Suharto's New Order. Although a comprehensive study would necessitate attention to the full panoply of commodities, the study illustrates some of the workings of the extractive regime in the timber and fisheries sectors, which share spatial extensivity and other characteristics. The article concludes by considering the future of the extractive regime in Indonesia amid democratization and continued class domination and by offering suggestions for further application, specification, and extension of the extractive regime concept.

When Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is widely known by his initials (SBY), addressed a prestigious audience gathered at the Harvard Kennedy School Forum in September 2009, he confidently [...]

This article examines patterns of cooperation and conflict between Indonesia and Singapore with a view to understanding why the relationship appears prone to recurrent uneasiness. It argues that we have few reasons to believe that either structural or historical factors necessarily place Singapore in a position of strategic vulnerability with regards to Indonesia. Rather, the relationship is driven by the political and material interests of actors on both sides. Contests for domestic political advantage can occasionally spill over into the bilateral arena, but they do not do so in any predetermined way. To the degree that there is a structural conflict of interests behind the relatively mundane disputes between the two countries, it is rooted patterns of economic complementarity and interaction that have operated since the colonial era. Mutual sensitivity to perceived affronts may also be a paradoxical by-product of the non-interference norm as it has been interpreted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Key words: Indonesia, Singapore, bilateral relations, foreign policy, politics., The Singapore-Indonesia relationship is commonly described as being subject to sharp fluctuations, shifting between periods of tension and relatively close cooperation. A conventional schema would commence with the period of [...]

Studies of transitions from authoritarian rule have shown that militaries play decisive roles in authoritarian breakdowns. The military possesses coercive resources that can suppress any challenge to authoritarian rule. This article explains why and under what conditions militaries in authoritarian regimes, when faced with popular demonstrations, will support the path of political liberalization. The study argues that armed forces are likely to back transitions from authoritarianism when there is intense conflict within the military; and arising from these contestations, marginalized officers (losers) either enter into a pact with the domestic opposition or have foreign support to act against the regime. The losers' decision to turn against authoritarianism is a move to eliminate the regime and their rivals within the armed forces. The author illustrates this argument in the February 1986 Philippines People Power revolution and May 1998 collapse of Indonesia's President Suharto's regime. Keywords: transitions; democratization; authoritarianism; pacts; military; armed forces; civil-military relations; Indonesia; Philippines

This article examines Australian press coverage of the Indonesian killings of 1965-66, and considers its legacy for the historical consciousness of events in Indonesia. The Indonesian killings of 1965-66 occurred on Australia's doorstep, at a time when the Cold War dominated the front pages of Australian newspapers. By examining articles from one of Australia's leading newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald, we show that press coverage of the killings was both limited and distorted. Comments made by correspondents reporting from Indonesia at the time suggest reasons why this was the case. In the rush to write a 'first rough draft of history', the killings in Indonesia were treated as background to the story of leadership change in Jakarta and the defeat of Communism.

Amitai Etzioni's recommendation to U.S. policy makers to abandon democracy promotion in volatile Muslim societies and embrace moderate Muslims who may not support democracy but adhere to basic human rights standards may be applicable to certain Middle Eastern states. It parallels U.S. policy in the cold war, in which the criteria for regime support was anticommunism rather than democracy. However, Catharin Dalpino argues that this paradigm may not apply to Southeast Asia and that Etzioni's policy recommendations may indeed backfire in countries such as Indonesia. In that Muslim-majority country, the democratization process has provided leaders with mechanisms to curb the rise of political Islam. Recent studies show that this approach may be working, as Indonesian voters are moving away from religious identification as a determinant in voting behavior. Keywords: democracy; Southeast Asia; Indonesia; moderate Islam; Muslim voting behavior

This article argues that, in contrast with prevalent choice-theoretic accounts of institutional origins in new democracies, the passage of Indonesia's regional autonomy laws in 1999 took place despite the interests [...]

The Mayora strike which occurred at a moment of political transition in Indonesia from Suharto's authoritarian regime to a more democratically inclined government which caused the interplay between individual subjectivities and collective action is examined, which highlights the problems arising in understanding the nature of protest and collective action and construction of worker's identities.

The growing sense of disappointment with Indonesia's sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because of his failure to deliver on electoral promises is reviewed. Indonesia's plan to build a nuclear reactor in 2007 to help meet Java's expanding energy needs resurfaced and the government implemented various structural reforms.

This article discusses party financing in Indonesia after the fall of Soeharto in 1998. It shows that the cut in state subsidies for parties in 2005 has contributed to a significant increase in their illicit fund-raising efforts. Most importantly, parties have intensified their endeavours to exploit legislative and executive institutions as alternative sources of income. This trend has not only reinforced the public image of parties as rent-seeking and self-serving, but has also undermined their internal coherence and their ability to carry out basic democratic functions. Building on recent comparative research on party financing, this article points out that most consolidated democracies provide substantial state subsidies for parties in order to counter the kind of tendencies that have emerged in Indonesia. Consequently, while it certainly has its own problems, public party financing appears to be the most effective way to contain the spread of corruption in party politics. Keywords: post-Soeharto, corruption, Golkar, Indonesia, political parties., Ever since the reintroduction of democratic rule in 1998, Indonesia's political parties have been the target of harsh criticism by the media, academic observers and the electorate. In opinion surveys, [...]

This case study tests the significance of leadership, party identification, religious orientation, political economy, and sociological and demographic factors in the legislative and presidential choices of voters in the new Indonesian democracy. Data were obtained from four national opinion surveys conducted by the authors following parliamentary elections in 1999 and 2004 and the two-round presidential election in 2004. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of our data confirm the significance of leadership and party ID and the nonsignificance for the most part of other variables tested, including religious orientation, long the most popular explanation for the Indonesian case. Keywords: Indonesia; elections; leadership; party identification; religion

Indonesia: The Great Transition. Edited by John Bresnan. New York and Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005. Softcover: 318pp. This book is an ambitious academic volume written by a group [...]

This article is a preliminary observation of local politics and local identity in Kotagede, Central Java, Indonesia, during the post-Soeharto period. It examines the roles of Muhammadiyah and local actors in maintaining local identity in this town. I highlight the importance of Islamic and Javanese traditions in shaping the local history and the dynamics of local politics in Kotagede, I also argue that there is a place for local actors and social networks in the pursuit of preserving local identity in this town. Some observations are made about the impact of the Yogyakarta earthquake and future research directions. Keywords: Kotagede, Muhammadiyah, scholarship, local politics, local identity., This article is based on two research field trips I made to Kotagede, Indonesia, in 2005. (1) My long-term research plan is to document the political ethnography of Kotagede during [...]

This article examines what the performance of Indonesia's political parties seven years on from Soeharto's resignation can tell us about politics in the country. Using the party system institutionalization framework first developed by Scott Mainwaring and Timothy Scully in Building Democratic Institutions: Party Systems in Latin America (1995), the article finds that Indonesia's parties and party system show a mixed score card, strengths and weaknesses mixing to deprive the parties of legitimacy. On balance, the 2004 elections and 2005 regional elections represent a step towards further deinstitutionalization due to the primacy of personalities in the direct elections of the president and the regional heads. Democracy may indeed now be the only game in town, but its operation is likely to be rocky. There is a silver lining, however; accountability has been somewhat improved due to the electorate's realization of its power to reward and punish parties and political leaders. Keywords: Soeharto, institutionalization, deinstitutionalization, New Democracy, political legitimacy, Indonesia, political parties, Yudhoyono., It is often said, following Samuel Huntington, that it is not the first elections after the fall of an authoritarian regime that matter; instead, the path to democracy is seen [...]

Newly elected President Yudhoyono and Vice President Kalla scored successes despite initial lack of parliamentary support. Kalla took control of Golkar, the largest party, and a tentative peace was achieved in Aceh.

Irama hidupku membeludak begini, Bunda, tak tertampung dalam tembang nenek-moyang. (The rhythm of my life is bursting forth crazily, Mother; it can't be accommodated in the song-form of my ancestors.) [...]

The dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over maritime boundaries and hydrocarbon reserves has led to sudden deterioration of diplomatic relations between the two nations. A report on the dispute is presented that also compares the handling of similar issues in the Spratly Islands.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired army officer, became Indonesia's first directly elected president, defeating incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri. The work of Susiolo Bambang Yudhoyono in the economy is discussed.