A Critique on Democratization in Indonesia

The fall of the authoritarian regime of President Suharto has resulted in political reforms

and democratic transition in Indonesian politics. This transition is mainly described by frequent

elections, non-aggressive rotation of power, effective politicians, separation of powers and the

inclusion of rights and liberties to its citizens. Although Indonesia was considered as one of the

youngest democracies in Asia, it relatively attained the attributes of a democratic country.

This critique aims to tackle the extent to which Indonesian democracy has been

consolidated and it requires a thorough scrutiny and analysis. It particularly investigates the

democratization process— whether Indonesian democracy has fulfilled the criteria posed by

theories on democratic consolidation, and it further assesses how Indonesia managed the

challenges of democratic transition and consolidation. Furthermore, this critique paper will

include a comparative analysis of Indonesia and Philippine democratic transition and

consolidation.

Pre-conditions to democracy

There are various pre-conditions to democracy and this includes democratic culture,

economic development, a certain level of modernization or development and coherent political

culture. Furthermore, cultural values and shared attitudes influence political change in a society.

However, some scholars rejected cultural determinism or any hypothetical preconditions to

democracy. In the case of Indonesian cultural values however, Islamic political culture is

unfavorable to democratic values inasmuch as the teachings of Quran is not inclined towards

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democratic rule. Democracy is a Western concept of government, hence this is foreign to Islamic

culture of Indonesia.

Other political theorists argued that democracy commenced on the sound commitment

amongst ordinary people. The democratization process and democratic culture can develop

simultaneously without any preconditions being considered other than willingness of the people

being governed.

Social contract theory has been put into consideration as a pre-condition to the

establishment of a democratic government. Rousseau’s Social Contract emphasizes general will

shared by every member, who would be stronger and freer than an individual living

independently in a state of nature. This engenders legitimacy only insofar as it operates

according to the principles of popular sovereignty. Under the theory of general will, Rousseau

stated that the government is merely an “agent with delegated powers which could be withdrawn

or altered as the general will of the people dictated”. 1

The pre-conditions to the establishment of a democracy means that the presence of

formal consent between the government and the governed must exist. In another point of view,

when the government no longer served the citizens interests and welfare, it might be resisted or

overthrown because the government had violated its obligations under the social contract to the

extent that it had broken it. The government’s obligation as trustees was to protect and preserve

people's rights. In the case of Indonesia, Shuharto’s authoritarian government was overthrown

from power inasmuch as he lost his legitimacy due to his failure to deliver citizens’ aspirations

towards economic and political stability. The social contract between Suharto’s authoritarian

1
Excerpts from “The Social Contract”, taken from the Great Political Theories, Volume 2, ed. Michael Curtis (New
York: Avon Books, 1962), p. 18

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government has been terminated by the people and thereby replacing a newly established

democratic government that legitimizes the general will of the people.

Comparative Analysis of Indonesia and Philippine Democratic Transition

The fall of Suharto was mainly caused by several factors: The Asian economic crisis led

to Indonesia's failing economy. The failure of the government to recover the failing economy

triggers the reformasi2 movements—where student demonstrations spread across Indonesia,

challenging the status quo for progressive radical reforms. Student movement however, lacks an

ideological cohesiveness, organizational base and unifying political leadership and agenda thus

transferring the powers to the elite political leaders the discretion to define the path of the

reformasi.

Political re-institutionalization was one of the most significant achievements during the

democratic transitional phase. This marks the constitutional amendments that particularly

modified the structure of Indonesia’s representative and legislative institutions at national,

regional and local level. New statutes and legislative revisions include the guarantee of human

rights and freedom of its citizens.

The People’s Consultative Assembly spearheaded the non-violent rotation of presidential

power. It managed to impeach President Wahid after the decline of support from his political

allies and the latter favored his Vice President, Megawatti Sukarnoputri. The elimination of the

potential emergence of a new presidential dictatorship has been institutionalized in their

constitution by giving oversight and accountability mechanisms to other branches of the

government.

2
Reformasi is an Indonesian word for “reform or reformation”. It also refer to the movement to overthrow Suharto’s
authoritarian regime in 1998 and the post-Suharto era in Indonesia began immediately after.

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 Habibie’s administration introduced political reforms on the government that helped to

liberalize the political system. He led the election of a reformist leader, freed political prisoners

and lifted restrictions on the media. He utilized his political power and influence over the Golkar

party, which controls the People’s Representative Assembly, in order to initiate campaigns

against corruption, collusion and nepotism. Consequently, Suharto’s loyalist supporters and

family members were either voluntarily resigned or forcibly removed from office. In addition,

military members of the assembly were reduced, and they are prohibited from taking posts in the

bureaucracy.

Reforms on the election law was the significant step of Habibie’s government to facilitate

Indonesia’s democratic transition. The institutionalization of political parties held legal

requirements for the latter that promoted multi-party elective competitions. The establishment of

the General Election Commission reassures free, fair and independent elections that were free

from the attempts of any electoral manipulations and frauds. Consequently, democratic political

reforms were generally accepted by various political actors who participated in the elections.

During the Philippine democratic transition, President Corazon Aquino’s government

faced coup attempts by the Marcos’ loyalists in the Armed Forces in the Philippines and the

RAM also followed the coup d’état. The AFP has become a highly politicized and divided

institution because there are factions that divide the military’s loyalty: the first faction is pro-

democracy which supported the Aquino government while the other factions were the loyalists

of the former dictator Marcos. 3

Moreover, communist group led by Communist Party of the Philippines is considered as

the longest revolutionaries in the country. At present, CCP-NPA continues its revolution against

3
Miranda, F. (1993). Democratization in the Philippines: Recent Development, Trends and Prospects. Asian Journal
of Political Science, 1(1), 89-94. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02185379308434019

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the state, and the proceeding president from Aquino has intensified its counter- insurgency

operations against the communist armed groups. Furthermore, the armed secessionist attempt of

the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

ended after the implementation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which provides a certain degree

of political autonomy to the Muslim Region of Mindanao.

Indonesia’s democratic transition has been completed from a procedural perspective not

on the substantive aspect. Assessment of consolidation however, is another issue which requires

main characteristics and ideal criteria of consolidated democracy according to political theories.

The proceeding section outlines the criteria of democratic consolidations and later it will apply to

the political experience of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Theory of Democratic Consolidation: Application to Indonesian and Filipino Political

Landscapes

There are numerous political theorists that laid down the criteria of democratic consolidation

in developing countries. This has been highly debated by scholars in the field inasmuch as there

are varying concepts that underlies their theories. These theories provide an amalgamated

analytical tool for empirical basis especially in assessing newly established. It includes the

following criteria:

a. Elimination of authoritarian legacy and undemocratic alternatives. Pro-reform political

actors were committed to remove and dismantle Suharto’s authoritarian legacies. These

political actors along with pro-democracy forces anchored on a democratization campaign

facing the pro-status quo elites. This campaign led to the removal of non-elected members of

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 the parliament and Indonesia’s representative and legislative institutions became

democratized.

In the case of the Philippines, President Corazon Aquino led the nation in the peaceful

overthrow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Aquino was confronted with critical problems

connected with the eradication of the institutions and legacies of Marcos authoritarianism.

President Aquino initiated the abolishment and replacement of the 1973 constitution with her

Freedom Constitution. Her revolutionary government quickly restored civil and political

rights, abolished the single chamber legislature (Batasang Pambansa), removed many

leaders who had collaborated with the dictatorship, temporarily exercised emergency powers

wherein she exercised executive and legislative powers, and replace administrators and local

officials with her appointees.

The ratification of the 1987 constitution made significant reforms in order to prevent

another authoritarian regime. It creates the provision on the separation of powers and checks

and balances between all the branches of the government. The frequent, fair and free

democratic electoral process, wherein national and local leaders have been chosen on direct

and popular elections.

b. Unequivocal commitment of political actors to democratic rule of the game. Indonesia’s

political experiences were influenced by the pro-reform politics involved in eliminating

Suharto’s political allies. Political actors broadly accepted free and fair elections as a

legitimate test for selecting the nation’s leader. Military that was once influential in Suharto’s

authoritarian government also accepted democracy as a form of government. They did not

resist the elected civilian leaders which catered to political and economic reforms that lead to

the democratic consolidation. The Indonesian political and constitutional system did not see

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 the emergence of any significant deviant or anti-democratic actors that might disintegrate the

newly established democratic government.

Furthermore, in the Philippines, democracy has also become the only rule of the game.

The proceeding presidential elections after the EDSA revolution have been described as

peaceful, fair, free, and legitimate to some extent. The legitimacy of Philippine elections has

been put into doubts of electoral frauds and manipulations. Presidential elections has been

held every six years and it utilizes manual election and until 2010, it fully operates an

automated election. However, there are alleged fraudulent activities such as ballot snatching,

stuffing and discarding on the manual election. In the automated election, the public

questioned the credibility of election results due to cyber security threat and malfunctions on

vote canvassing. In response, the Commission on Elections assured to the public that it would

remain independent, and it further guaranteed that the election was successful and it

“certainly reflects the will of the electorate.”

c. Peaceful rotation of power also facilitates the democratic consolidation. To date, there have

been six presidential elections: via indirect votes from parliament and direct and popular

presidential elections. The constitutional provision on the balance of power between

legislative and executive branch consolidates the political system. The successful

implementation of democratic principles and the enforcement of constitutional rotation of

power lead to the implausible emergence of a dictatorship as a result of significant

democratic consolidation.

President Habibie enacted reforms on the military that would relatively facilitate the

democratization. Constitutional amendment have eliminated military’s representative to

parliament and the military are not allowed to occupy position in the bureaucracy. His

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 administration made a significant reform on the separation of police as law enforcers to the

military as the defender of the state against internal or external armed conflicts.

The persistence of challenges to democratic consolidation undermines the ability to apply

full civilian authority or supremacy over the military. Military maintained a web of

commercial business ventures and it relies on profits from its own payments from private

sector allies, income from black market trades and money skimmed from corrupt dealings.

The civilian government lacks the power to demand accountability from the armed forces

and the necessity to implement reforms.

In the Philippines, there have been at least thirteen aborted coup attempts since 1986—

nine against President Corazon Aquino from 1986 to 1989 and four against President Gloria

Macapagal-Arroyo since 2001, including the last one by marine officers on November 29,

2007. The most serious one was that of December 1989 which nearly toppled Aquino from

office. It involved the military occupation of several hotels in Makati City, the country‘s

premier financial district. It was led by Col. Gregorio ―Gringo Honasan, who has been

involved in virtually every coup attempt against the government. At present, the military is

committed to fulfill its duty to serve and protect the people. Furthermore, Article II, Section 3

of the 1987 constitution provides that the “Armed forces of the Philippines is the protector of

the people and the State.” The civilian authority is supreme over the military implies that the

government safeguards the nation against military dictatorship, therefore a civilian president

is given the power to be the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. 4

d. Routinization and institutionalization of democratic practices and procedures. Despite the

commitment of political actors to the institutional rules of the democratic regime, there are

4
De Leon, H., & De Leon, Jr. , H. (2019). Textbook on the Philippine Constitution. (17th ed., 81-83). Rex Book
Store.

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institutional weaknesses for Indonesia’s democracy: it demonstrates a need for capacity

building, increased professionalism, and broader social engagement on the part of the state

actors.

Political parties lacks party platforms in election campaigns and this is mostly within the

camp of Islamic parties. The latter significantly involved in electoral competition and its

members uses religious symbols to attract Muslim votes. Also, political parties mainly

possess charismatic leadership rather than political programs and policies in order to attract

votes from the electorate. Nonetheless, Muslim leaders and Islamic parties have played a

significant role in facilitating and stabilizing Indonesia’s democratic consolidation. Islamic

parties created an active and deliberative interplay in legislating laws.

In the Philippines, the state declares its principle on the separation of church and state.

According to article II, sec. 6 of the 1987 constitution, it insinuates that the church cannot

interfere in political matters. However, in political practice, church involvement in politics

and elections has been manifested on the passage and questioning the constitutionality of

Reproductive Health Law, and bloc voting from the religious groups particularly Iglesia Ni

Cristo and El Shaddai.

Significant reforms on the election law institutionalized strong political parties and

during elections, political parties has been competitively contesting seats in parliament, as

well as in local positions. There are political parties that has imperatively emerged such as

the PKS. Unlike other political parties that are highly plagued with corruption and

patrimonialism, PKS emphasize political programs with consistent anti-corruption

campaigns. This has increased the trust of the voter and this results in a significant increase

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 in their party votes. PKS upholds their party’s integrity through its emphasis on merit rather

than loyalty.

In the Philippine case, political parties continued to be a candidate centered coalition of

traditional politicians and political machines anchored in clientelistic and personal

inducements rather than issues, ideologies and party platforms. Weak party discipline and

party institutionalization of the post-Marcos period has resulted in breaking multiple factions

constantly forming new political parties. Given the personality and candidate centered nature

of Philippine politics, little or no importance is given to problematic development. Political

parties were built around vast networks of well entrenched political dynasties that constantly

switched their affiliation for one administration party to another in order to gain access to

state resources and patronage. 5

Moreover, the 1987 constitution also highlights sectoral representation in Congress by

party-list system. The latter aims to give an opportunity to the various social, economic,

cultural, and other groups or sectors of the society to have their voices heard in Congress,

specifically at the House of Representatives—an institution normally composed of elite

politicians. It envisions fostering greater participation for the marginalized sectors of the

society that once remained unrepresented and voiceless. However, party-lists were

weaponized by the elite members of the society such as former government officials,

businessmen, trapos (traditional politicians), and even leaders of religious groups as an easier

and cheaper way of getting elected to the House of Representatives.

e. Development of a strong majority if public support for upholding the democratic system.

Surveys on public opinion demonstrate the positive point of democratic and the majority of

5
Teehankee, J. (2012). Clientelism and Party Politics in the Philippines In D. Tomsa & A. Ufen (Eds.). Clientelism
and Electoral Competition in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, 186-214. Retrieved October 31, 2021, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313359654_Clientelism_and_Party_Politics_in_the_Philippines

10
 Indonesians support the belief that democratic procedures and institutions are the appropriate

way of governing the state—they are less likely to support any potential undemocratic

tendencies.

The ratification of the 1987 constitution in the Philippines through a plebiscite was

popularly voted by the electorate. This implies that Filipinos supported the democratic

government as a response to the dictatorship of President Marcos. The constitution has been

described as an idealistic and progressive constitution in the nation's history. Filipinos

envisioned an ideal democracy that would be peaceful, prosperous, equitable, just and

humane, which builds a society that would provide an inclusive development.

In the survey conducted by the Social Weather Station, Filipinos believe democracy is

always preferable to any other kind of government. The survey was conducted in September

2018 and it found 84 percent of adult Filipinos saying they are satisfied. The data shows 59

percent of the respondents said that “democracy is always preferable to any other kind of

government.” The survey findings come amid seeming public debates for martial law and a

persistent threat for President Rodrigo Duterte to shift the democratic government into a

“revolutionary government.”6

Conclusion

Indonesia and the Philippines have similar histories of an authoritarian regime that lasted

for decades. The uprising of people power of both nations led to the removal of the dictators

Suharto and Marcos. Indonesia and Philippines experienced the challenges of democratic

transition and consolidation, which facilitated the firm establishment of democracy in these

countries and these countries prevented the emergence of another authoritarian regime in the

6
Cabico, G. (2018, October 5). SWS: 8 in 10 Filipinos satisfied with Philippine democracy . PhilStar. Retrieved
December 10, 2021, from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/05/1857505/sws-8-10-filipinos-satisfied-
philippine-democracy/amp/

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implementation of various political reforms. Furthermore, the democracy of Indonesia and

Philippines are relatively consolidated based on the empirical data that has been provided by the

article.

Despite the military reforms that establish civilian authority over the military and the

latter hampers the democratic consolidation. The Indonesian government failed to dismantle

business activities of the military to its private accomplices. Another issue is the civilian

government lacks the power to demand accountability from the armed forces from its illicit

activities. The proponent suggests having an intensive, well-planned and deliberative civil-

military relations that will slowly facilitate the realization of the democratic principle towards

civilian authority over the military.

Islamic parties mainly rely on charismatic leaders and social organizations to attract

electoral votes, and their political programs are described as less patrimonial and less policy

driven party platforms. Although they adopted Pancasilla as the basis of their party ideology,

Islamic parties lacked certain party policies and programs. In order to address this issue, the

proponent recommends that the Islamic parties must propose certain and precise policies and

programs to the electorate. Moreover, policy-driven and merit based electoral competition is

ideal to further consolidate Indonesian democracy.

Through the institutionalization of stronger political parties, the Philippine political party

system can learn from Indonesia’s democratic experience. This will bring a clear line of political

stand of certain politicians to various issues and problems that politicians must address. The

fluidity of Philippine party system has continued to face problems in its practice, as a candidate-

centered coalition dominates rather than addressing specific issues, ideologies, and party

platforms. Weak party discipline and institutionalization have resulted in political actors

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constantly switching affiliations from one administration party to another in order to gain access

to state resources and patronage.

References:

● (2019). Southeast Asian Politics Issues of the Past Defining the Challenges of the

Present. (N. Morada & T. Encarnation-Tadem Eds.) ((182-195)). University of the

Philippines Press.

● Abinales, P., & Amoroso, D. (2017). State and Society in the Philippines. (2nd ed., 231-

242). Ateneo de Manila University Press.

● Carlos, C., & Lalata, D. (2011). Democratic Deficits in the Philippines: What is to be

Done?. (D. Despi Ed.) KONRAD ADENAUER STIFTUNG.

● Miranda, F. (1997). Democratization: Philippine Perspective. (5-16). University of the

Philippines Press.

● Miranda, F., Ronas, M., Rivera, T., & Holmes , R. (2011). Chasing the Winds: Assessing

Philippine Democracy. Published by the Commission on Human Rights of the

Philippines (CHRP) with the Support of the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP).

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