Report on political kidnapping, assassination, violence, etc. in Indonesia.

How do politicians win elected office in Indonesia? To find out, research teams fanned out across the country prior to Indonesia’s 2014 legislative election to record campaign events, interview candidates and canvassers, and observe their interactions with voters. They found that at the grassroots political parties are less important than personal campaign teams and vote brokers who reach out to voters through a wide range of networks associated with religion, ethnicity, kinship, micro enterprises, sports clubs and voluntary groups of all sorts. Above all, candidates distribute patronage—cash, goods and other material benefits—to individual voters and to communities. Electoral Dynamics in Indonesia brings to light the scale and complexity of vote buying and the many uncertainties involved in this style of politics, providing an unusually intimate portrait of politics in a patronage-based system.

The socio-political activities of the Acehnese diaspora, located mainly in Malaysia, Scandinavia, the USA and Australia, have been of fundamental importance to conflict and politics within Aceh. The intensity of the relations between the diaspora and the homeland was mainly determined by the conflict that afflicted the region between 1976 and 2005, and the resulting hardship was experienced by Acehnese both at home and abroad. This book looks at more than thirty years of long-distance politics exercised by the Acehnese diaspora both during the conflict and beyond. It interprets the social, political and cultural aspects of the small-scale conflict in Aceh, as well as focusing on the external factors related to the Acehnese overseas and their impact on homeland politics. The book goes on to contribute to the argument that the Acehnese diaspora had a significant impact on those who remained in Aceh. By focusing on the triangular relationships between the homeland, the host countries and the Acehnese diaspora, the book draws attention to the exchange of people, ideas, and financial and material resources that has occurred. It is a useful contribution to Southeast Asian Politics and Diaspora Studies.

Defending Traditional Islam in Indonesia examines the rise of young preachers of Arab descent (habaib) and their sermon groups in the region and shows how Islam and politics coexist, flourish, interlace, and strive in Indonesia in complex, pragmatic, and mutually beneficial relationships. The book argues that the emergence of Arab preachers in the late 1990s, when traditional forms of Islamic authority came under growing challenge from a diverse array of Muslim groups and ideologies, is closely tied to contestation between traditionalists and their puritanical rivals, the Salafi-Wahhabi. Not only have the habaib featured prominently in defending traditionalism, they have also used this contestation as an opportunity to build their authority and religious capital through marketisation and their ties to the Middle East. The author explores the ways in which habaib promote themselves to the mostly young urban, Muslim community, and also analyses the use of new media and marketing strategies by habaib to attract young followers. The use of merchandise utilising popular culture and group identity markers is especially salient in the preachers’ outreach to urban audiences. In addition, public staging and entertainment during preaching activities are means by which the habaib cast their Islamic preaching (dakwah) as the Prophet’s mission and encourage their followers’ participation. A novel socio-cultural and religious study and a contribution to the growing discussion on new media, market, and religion, this book will be of interest to anthropologists, social scientists and area studies scholars interested in Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Islamic studies.

Despite being a major player in the ending of Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998, today the Indonesian pro-democracy movement is a marginal force in Indonesian politics and the process of reformasi is in the hands of other (elite) forces. Accordingly, there are some who now question if the quest to establish what would have been the world's third largest democracy is now a lost cause. This book represents a unique joint effort by concerned scholars and reflective activists to review and analyze the character, problems, and options facing the Indonesian pro-democracy movement. It is the first study to analyze why the pro-democracy movement failed to capitalize on its earlier successes and today is marginalized.

This book assesses the construction, operation and effects of the international protection regime for human rights defenders, which has evolved significantly over the last twenty years in response to the risks people face as they promote and protect human rights. Drawing upon the experiences of human rights defenders who continue to persevere in their activism in Indonesia, Egypt, Kenya, Mexico and Colombia, this edited collection examines the ways in which formal protection mechanisms by state and civil society actors intersect with self-protection measures and informal protection initiatives by families and friends. It highlights that protection practices are most effective when they are designed to address the specific risks that human rights defenders face (which are gendered and intersectional); reflect how defenders understand ‘risk’, ‘security’ and ‘protection’; and are appropriate for the dynamic sociopolitical and legal contexts in which defenders operate. This book proposes ways in which the protection of human rights defenders at risk should be reimagined and practised. This book will be a thought-provoking guide for students and scholars of politics, international relations, law and human rights, as well as to practitioners engaged in the protection of human rights defenders at risk.

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist A chilling work of true crime about the midair murder of a human rights activist, set against a riveting political drama in the world’s fourth-largest nation On a warm Jakarta night in September 2004, Munir said goodbye to his wife and friends at the airport. He was bound for the Netherlands to pursue a master’s degree in human rights. But Munir never reached Amsterdam alive. Before his plane touched down, the thirty-eight-year-old—one of the leading human rights activists of his generation—lay dead in the fourth row. Munir’s daring investigation of the killings and abductions that occurred over three decades of authoritarian rule by the former president, Suharto, had earned him powerful enemies. Undeterred, Munir’s wife, Suciwati, and his close friend, Usman Hamid, launched their own investigation. They soon uncovered a conspiracy involving spies, a mysterious co-pilot, threats of violence and black magic, and deadly poison. Drawing on interviews, courtroom observation, leaked documents, and police files, this book uncovers the dramatic murder plot and the titanic struggle to bring the perpetrators of Munir’s death to justice. Just as Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing did for Northern Ireland, We Have Tired of Violence tells the story of a shocking crime that serves as a window into a captivating land still struggling to shake off a terrible legacy.