Democratisation In Indonesia: From The New Order To Reformasi

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the process of democratization in Indonesia from the period of the New Order to Reformasi and evaluates its impact on the political development in the country. Primary data for the thesis is obtained from intensive interviews of expert respondents, while secondary data are drawn from books, journals, newspapers and research by earlier scholars. As a guide, this thesis incorporates and evaluates Huntington’s conceptual framework on the various categories of democratisation, including transformation, replacement and transplacement, into the Indonesian scenario covering the period of the New Order to Reformasi. There are four main findings. Firstly, the form of political system in Indonesia and its execution prior to the New Order and Reformasi is very undemocratic. This is because absolute power at that time were in the hands of Soeharto and this resulted in the emergence of political absolutism and political repression, as well as the abuse of fundamental human rights. Secondly, the process of democratisation that has been carried out by the regime of the New Order to Reformasi was not in accordance with Huntington’s conceptualization of democratisation. On the contrary, the process merely complemented the process of transplacement. Thirdly, there are many actors in the process of democratisation who played important roles. They include international bodies, elites of the Indonesian’s New Order regime and non-state actors. Lastly, the positive impacts of the process of democratization such as the emergence of a multi-party system, the execution of a free and just elections, the amendment of the UUD 1945, the implementation of direct elections of provincial leaders and the non-participation of the Indonesian military in the political system, have managed to transform the republic’s political system from autocracy to democracy. Consequently, these resulted in the emergence of the people’s sovereignty and the abolition of the absolute power of the president. With these findings, this thesis contributes to the enrichment of knowledge in the field of political science from two aspects which have never been articulated by any scholars, including Huntington. First, this thesis shows that the democratisation process will only succeed when it is being initiated through the process of dissemination and nurturing of ideas, and not just through the process of transformation, replacement, and transplacement. Second, this thesis proves that the democratisation process which has taken place in Indonesia is the result of a soft-intervention, that is, it has been carried out through the process of dissemination and maturing of democratic ideas at the levels of Indonesian’s political elites and the masses, not only through the net effect of students’ demonstrations or the societal revolution in the country at large