Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T21:19:15.069Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Stateness and State Capacity in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: Securing Democracy’s Survival, Entrenching Its Low Quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2020

Aurel Croissant
Affiliation:
Universität Heidelberg
Olli Hellmann
Affiliation:
University of Waikato, New Zealand
Get access

Summary

This chapter discusses the stateness-democracy linkage in Indonesia’s post-1998 democratization process. While the stateness developed under authoritarianism appeared to erode after 1998, a robust democracy was nevertheless established. This surprising outcome raises the question of what the precise role of stateness and its related capacities was in establishing and maintaining the democratic regime after 1998. Did the capacity developed under Suharto survive the collapse of the authoritarian regime in 1998 and help to create the conditions under which democracy was entrenched, together with its deficiencies? Or did democracy develop new state capacities that allowed the country to consolidate? There is evidence, this chapter argues, that the core of Indonesian state capacity entrenched under Suharto endured during the transition, assisting in the creation of an electoral democracy. Yet, the deals that post-authoritarian rulers had to enter into in order to access that state capacity trapped Indonesia in low-quality democratic rule. There is also evidence that, although low in quality, Indonesia’s democracy strengthened some of the state’s capacities, while it failed to impact others.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alagappa, M. (2001). Investigating and explaining change: An analytical framework. In Alagappa, M., ed., Coercion and Governance: The Declining Role of the Military in Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 29–68.Google Scholar
Andersen, D., Moller, J., and Skaaning, S. E. (2014). The state-democracy-nexus: Conceptual distinctions, theoretical perspectives, and comparative approaches. Democratization, 21(7), 1203–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aspinall, E. (2010). Indonesia: The irony of success. Journal of Democracy, 21(2), 21–34.Google Scholar
Aspinall, E., and Fealy, G., eds. (2003). Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Democratisation and Decentralisation. Singapore: ISEAS.Google Scholar
Aspinall, E., and Sukmajati, M., eds. (2015). Politik uang di Indonesia: patronase dan klientelisme pada pemilu legislatif 2014. Yogyakarta: PolGov.Google Scholar
Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D. (2015). The moderating president: Yudhoyono’s decade in power. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 1–22.Google Scholar
Baker, J. (2015). Professionalism without reform: The security sector under Yudhoyono. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 114–35.Google Scholar
Berger, D. (2015). Human rights and Yudhoyono’s test of history. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 155–74.Google Scholar
Bertelsmann Stiftung. (2018). BTI 2018: Indonesia Country Report. Available at: www.bti-project.org/en/reports/country-reports/detail/itc/IDN/ [Accessed 22 June 2019].Google Scholar
Bertrand, J. (2004). Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Booth, A. (2002). Growth collapses in Indonesia: A comparison of the 1930s and the 1990s. Itinerario, 26(3–4), 73–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bresnan, J. (1993). Managing Indonesia: The Modern Political Economy. New York: Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buehler, M. (2010). Decentralisation and local democracy in Indonesia: The marginalisation of the public sphere. In Aspinall, E., and Mietzner, M., eds., Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions and Society.Google Scholar
Bush, R. (2015). Religious politics and minority rights during the Yudhoyono presidency. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 239–57.Google Scholar
Butt, S., and Lindsey, T. (2011). Judicial mafia: The courts and state illegality in Indonesia. In Aspinall, E. and van Klinken, G., eds., The State and Illegality in Indonesia. Leiden: KITLV Press, pp. 189–213.Google Scholar
Carbone, G. (2015). Democratisation as a state-building mechanism: A preliminary discussion of an understudied relationship. Political Studies Review, 13, 11–21.Google Scholar
Croissant, A., and Hellmann, O. (2018). Introduction: State capacity and elections in the study of authoritarian regimes. International Political Science Review, 39(1), 3–16.Google Scholar
Crouch, H. (1978). The Army and Politics in Indonesia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Crouch, H. (1979). Patrimonialism and military rule in Indonesia. World Politics, 31(4), 571–87.Google Scholar
Darden, K. (2008). The integrity of corrupt states: Graft as an informal state institution. Politics & Society, 36(1), 35–60.Google Scholar
De Mello, L. (2008). Indonesia: Growth Performance and Policy Challenges, Working Paper. Paris: OECD Publishing.Google Scholar
Freedom House. (2019). Freedom in the World 2019. Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/indonesia [Accessed 22 June 2019].Google Scholar
Global Firepower. (2015). Indonesia’s military strength. Available at: www.globalfirepower.com [Accessed 30 October 2015].Google Scholar
Hadiz, V. R. (2010). Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia Perspective. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Hadiz, V. R., and Robison, R. (2014). The political economy of oligarchy and the reorganization of power in Indonesia. In Ford, M. and Pepinsky, T. B., eds., Beyond Oligarchy: Wealth, Power and Contemporary Indonesian Politics. Ithaca: Cornell Southeast Asia Program, pp. 35–56.Google Scholar
Hamid, U. (2015). Social media and the quality of freedom of expression in Indonesia: Evidence from the field. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Hanson, J. K., and Sigman, R. (2013). Leviathan’s latent dimensions: Measuring state capacity for comparative political research. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Hill, H. (1994). The economy. In Hall, H., ed., Indonesia’s New Order: The Dynamics of Socio-Economic Transformation. St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin, pp. 54–122.Google Scholar
Hill, H. ed. (2014). Regional Dynamics of a Decentralized Indonesia. Singapore: ISEAS.Google Scholar
Hirst, M., and Varney, H. (2005). Justice Abandoned? An Assessment of the Serious Crimes Process in East Timor. New York: International Center for Transitional Justice.Google Scholar
Holmes, S. (1995). Passions and Constraint: On the Theory of Liberal Democracy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Honna, J. (2003). Military Politics and Democratization in Indonesia. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
ICG (International Crisis Group). (2008). Indonesia: Tackling Radicalism in Poso, Asia Briefing No. 75. Brussels: ICG.Google Scholar
Jones, S. (2015). Yudhoyono’s legacy on internal security: Achievements and missed opportunities. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 136–54.Google Scholar
Kapstein, E. B., and Converse, N. (2008). The Fate of Young Democracies. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Klinken, G. (2007). Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia: Small Town Wars. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kristiansen, S., and Ramli, M. (2006). Buying an income: The market for civil service positions in Indonesia. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 28(2), 207–33.Google Scholar
Lowry, R. (1996). The Armed Forces of Indonesia. St. Leonards: Allen & Unwin.Google Scholar
LSI (Lembaga Survei Indonesia). (2017). National Survey on Radicalism, Corruption, and Presidential Election: August 16–22, 2017. Jakarta: Lembaga Survei Indonesia.Google Scholar
Markas Besar Polri. (2014). Laporan kekuatan personel Polri, triwulan IV T.A. 2014. Jakarta: Mabes Polri.Google Scholar
Melville, A., and Mironyuk, M. (2016). ‘Bad enough governance’: State capacity and quality of institutions in post-Soviet autocracies. Post-Soviet Affairs, 32(2), 132–51.Google Scholar
Merkel, W. (2014). Is there a crisis of democracy, Democratic Theory 1(2), 11–25.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M. (2005). Local democracy. Inside Indonesia, 85, 17–18.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M. (2006). The Politics of Military Reform in Post-Suharto Indonesia: Elite Conflict, Nationalism and Institutional Resistance. Washington, DC: East-West Center.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M. (2009). Military Politics, Islam, and the State in Indonesia: From Turbulent Transition to Democratic Consolidation. Leiden: KITLV Press.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M. (2014). Indonesia’s decentralization: The rise of local identities and the survival of the nation-state. In Hall, H., ed., Regional Dynamics in a Decentralized Indonesia. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 45–67.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M. (2015). Dysfunction by design: Political finance and corruption in Indonesia. Critical Asian Studies, 47(4), 587–610.Google Scholar
Mietzner, M., and Farrelly, N. (2013). Mutinies, coups and military interventionism: Papua New Guinea and South-East Asia in comparison. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 67(3), 342–56.Google Scholar
Mujani, S., Liddle, R. W., and Ambardi, K. (2012). Kuasa rakyat: Analisis tentang perilaku memilih dalam pemilihan legislatif dan presiden Indonesia pasca-Orde Baru. Bandung: Mizan.Google Scholar
Muradi. (2014). Politics and Governance in Indonesia: The Police in the Era of Reformasi. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pramudatama, R. (2012). RI loses trillions in taxes from systemic corruption. Jakarta Post, 14 March.Google Scholar
Richburg, K. B. (1998). Will Indonesia be balkanized? Washington Post, 4 June.Google Scholar
Robinson, G. (2001). Indonesia: On a new course? In Alagappa, M., ed., Coercion and Governance: The Declining Role of the Military in Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 226–58.Google Scholar
Schmidt, A. (2010). Indonesia’s 2009 elections: Performance challenges and negative precedents. In Aspinall, E. and Mietzner, M., eds., Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions and Society. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 100–21.Google Scholar
Schreer, B. (2014). Moving beyond Ambitions? Indonesia’s Military Modernisation. Canberra: ASPI.Google Scholar
Schulze, G. G., and Sjahrir, B. S. (2014). Decentralization, governance and public service delivery. In Hall, H., ed., Regional Dynamics in a Decentralized Indonesia. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 186–207.Google Scholar
Seeberg, M. B. (2014). State capacity and the paradox of authoritarian elections. Democratization, 21(7), 1265–85.Google Scholar
Sherlock, S. (2015). A balancing act: Relations between state institutions under Yudhoyono. In Aspinall, E., Mietzner, M., and Tomsa, D., eds., The Yudhoyono Presidency: Indonesia’s Decade of Stability and Stagnation. Singapore: ISEAS, pp. 93–113.Google Scholar
SIPRI. (2019). Data for all countries, 1949–2018. Available at: www.sipri.org/databases/milex [Accessed 22 June 2019].Google Scholar
Slater, D., and Fenner, S. (2011). State power and staying power: Infrastructural mechanisms and authoritarian durability. Journal of International Affairs, 65(1), 15–29.Google Scholar
Slater, D., and Simmons, E. (2013). Coping by colluding: Political uncertainty and promiscuous powersharing in Indonesia and Bolivia. Comparative Political Studies, 46(11), 1366–93.Google Scholar
SMRC (Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting). (2015). Kinerja Presiden Jokowi – Evaluasi Publik Nasional Setahun Pemerintahan, 6–15 Oktober 2015. Jakarta: Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.Google Scholar
Tiwon, S. (1999). East Timor and the ‘Disintegration’ of Indonesia. NAPSNet East Timor Special Report. Berkeley: Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability.Google Scholar
Tjiptoherijanto, P. (2008). Civil service reform in Indonesia. Comparative Governance Reform in Asia: Democracy, Corruption, and Government Trust, 17, 39–53.Google Scholar
UNDP. (2019). Human Development Data (1990–2018). Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/data.Google Scholar
Webber, D. (2006). A consolidated patrimonial democracy? Democratization in post-Suharto Indonesia. Democratization, 13(3), 396–420.Google Scholar
White Paper. (1997). The Policy of the State Defence and Security of the Republic of Indonesia. Jakarta: Department of Defence and Security.Google Scholar
Winters, J. A. (2011). Oligarchy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
World Bank. (2015). Worldwide Governance Indicators – Indonesia, 1996–2013: Government Effectiveness. Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/worldwide-governance-indicators [Accessed 18 November 2015].Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×