Alternately lauded as a democratic success story and decried as a flawed democracy, Indonesia deserves serious consideration by anyone concerned with the global state of democracy. Yet, more than ten years after the collapse of the authoritarian Suharto regime, we still know little about how the key institutions of Indonesian democracy actually function. This book, written by leading democracy experts and scholars of Indonesia, presents a sorely needed study of the inner workings of Indonesia's political system, and its interactions with society. Combining careful case studies with an eye to the big picture, it is an indispensable guide to democratic Indonesia, its achievements, shortcomings and continuing challenges.

"The fall from power of Indonesia's President Suharto in 1998 has drawn much media and academic attention but the focus has been on the elite perspective, the role of the regime and military; little has been published on civil society, let alone gender issues." "This study, which covers the period from Suharto's fall up until the latest democratic elections in 2004, analyses the role of civil society in Indonesia's transition towards democracy. Here, the author argues that social movements are civil society's primary catalysts for change."--BOOK JACKET.

Since the fall of long-reigning President Soeharto, in 1998, Indonesia has been in an era of transition, away from an authoritarian regime, and on a quest for democracy. This quest started with decentralization laws implemented in 2001, which gave greater autonomy to the regions, and continued with the direct elections for the national and local legislatures and the President in 2004. The latest development in this democratization process is the implementation of a system for the direct election of regional leaders, which began in 2005; the first round of elections across the nation for all governors, mayors and district heads was completed in 2008. Authors of the chapters in this volume, the result of a workshop in Singapore in 2006, present data from across the archipelago for these first direct elections for local leaders and give their assessment as to how far these elections have contributed to a deepening democracy.

Despite challenges and problems in sustaining democratic norms and values, in the final analysis can it honestly be said that there is no better political system for Indonesia than Democracy? After more than eight years of political reform, it is necessary to analyze Indonesia's democratization process. This book offers coherent insights into recent Indonesian politics and provides a theoretically-based evaluation of the present situation, such as regard to the rule of law, the security sector, and the politics of identity. The question is raised and examined whether Churchill's famous quote about Democracy - being "the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time" - holds true for Indonesia.

In 2004, Indonesia had a second democratic election, which was also conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner. This book discusses Indonesia's transition towards democracy through the parliamentary and presidential elections, including an analysis of party activity in the provinces, in 2004.

This book explains how the leaders of the world's largest Islamic organizations understand tolerance, explicating how politics works in a Muslim-majority democracy.