Politics

A development policy agenda for a new administration

Indonesia's economic and political transformation has been remarkable, now the challenge is to deliver rapid, broad-based improvements in living standards

Business and politics in Indonesia

Prabowo and Bakrie at Senayan Rally- Mietzner

Eve Warburton The worlds of private business and public office are deeply enmeshed in contemporary Indonesia. At the national level and down into the districts, democratic institutions are brimming with opportunities to extort money. From elections, to party leadership ballots, to budget processes in the parliament, it can seem like Indonesia’s entire democratic system works on a foundation of business transactions. These same transactions lubricate the world of business, providing companies with access to government contracts, licenses and sometimes even regulatory reprieve. A patronage system of incessant backscratching between state officials and business elites appears to undergird Indonesia’s political economy.

Jokowi for President? No!

Riverbank settlers love Jokowi, but they don’t want him to become president

Review: Money, power and ideology in Indonesia’s political party system

Marcus Mietzner argues that when seen in the context of other new democracies, Indonesia’s political parties are not so bad

Mining paradise

Local communities resist mining development on Sulawesi’s Bangka Island

Mixed messages

Election campaigning in highland Papua breaks all the stereotypes

Creative campaigners

While material inducements to voters have been prevalent in 2014, candidates also employ innovative campaign strategies to attract support

Money politics

The distribution of money, goods and other benefits is an integral part of electioneering in Indonesia

Prabowo and human rights

Jakarta 1998 was bad, but Prabowo likely had more blood on his hands in East Timor

Jokowi: Rise of a polite populist

Jokowi’s path to the presidency might not be as smooth as it once seemed, but he is still the front runner

Election year

Edward Aspinall Indonesia’s legislative elections offer a window into the deep forces shaping the country, and a glimpse of its political future Indonesia is part way through its election year, having held its legislative elections on 9 April, and with the country now gearing up for the first round of the presidential polls in July. With more than 235,000 candidates running for seats in national, provincial and district legislatures around the country, the April poll was a massive logistical affair. It was also the culmination of years of effort, expense and stress for a huge number of people. Yet in some ways, the actual results of the election were an anti-climax.