Indonesia: democracy and the promise of good governance

ROSS H. McLEOD & ANDREW MacINTYRE (eds)

Indonesia: democracy and the promise of good governance

Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2007; 208 pp. ISBN 978-981-230-466-7 pb US$ 21.90

Reviewed by Nick Ford, University of Exeter

Given that it is now a decade since the Asian financial crisis led to the fall of President Suharto and ushered in the latest phase in the democratisation of Indonesia this is a highly timely collection of essays. The book is primarily based upon papers presented at the annual Indonesian Update conference (that shared the title of the book) held in September 2006 at the Australian National University, Canberra. Such conference collations are often ramshackle collections of disparate papers by academics each seeking to add another publication to their research assessment profiles. Such cynicism cannot be levelled against this collection of rather fine papers that have been skilfully drawn together by the editors.

The last ten years have been an incredible period of political and social change across this most ethnically diverse archipelago with its seemingly intractable developmental challenges. The common conceptualisation is to contrast the economic progress and political repression of the Suharto era with the economic stagnation and political progress of the post-Suharto era. The ‘inconvenient truth’ is that the Indonesian economy grew rapidly and consistently during the three decades of the ‘New Order’. This book seeks ‘to take stock of both Indonesia’s progress in establishing and refining a democratic framework of governance, and the extent to which this is yielding satisfactory outcomes’ (p.1). On a more general level the volume is exploring in some depth the requirements of such a process of democratisation if it is to be successful and sustainable. As such although the focus is wholly upon Indonesia it also marshals comparisons with other countries, particularly those of Southeast Asia.

The challenge of a collection of papers focused upon a single case study is both provide sufficient detail on the particular cultural and situational factors, but also to try to apply general theory and distil insights of broader significance. The editors and contributors (the core of whom hail from Australia and Indonesia) to this book have trod such a tightrope with admirable deftness. Each chapter is succinct, well expressed and supported by sound supporting evidence although, as may be expected, they do differ considerably with respect to the level of reference made to pertinent theory.

The book is introduced with reference to fundamental questions of the nature of governance, the exercise of state power and the beneficiaries of such intervention. Such themes obviously resonate powerfully with the recent political history of Indonesia, with the perennial debates concerning growth, equity and endemic corruption. The challenge of good governance is here defined as “to design systems of government that will ensure that the interests of society as a whole are promoted effectively, while the conflicting interests of the individuals charged with implementing government are kept in check” (p.2). The editors note that the high level of corruption under Suharto still exists albeit on a less centralised and more fragmented and thus possibly even more damaging basis.

The book helps to put some shape on the tremendously complex changes in the re-configuration of political power currently taking place in Indonesia, by structuring the contributions in three sections. The first section focuses upon the current process of the refinement of Indonesia’s national and regional political institutions. Ellis provides an overview of the recent dramatic constitutional change, highlighting the ambiguity in the shared nature of political power in the new framework. Reilly focuses upon the crucial role of political parties in the emerging democratic system, showing parallels with the broader trend across the Asia-Pacific region. In Indonesia electoral reform has sought to encourage fewer larger parties, with an express concern being to diminish ethnic and regional cleavages. Erawan explores the way which decentralisation has drastically changed central-local government relationships, including the pattern of corruption.

The second section is concerned mainly with the actions of government. In a fascinating chapter, which draws upon the literature on new institutional economics, Duncan and McLeod provide an explanation of how the highly corrupt Suharto regime was able to generate high-level economic performance. They argue that whilst the main focus of reformasi has been upon facilitating public participation in political processes, insufficient attention has been addressed to the related changes needed in the bureaucracy, judiciary and state-owned enterprises. Hamilton-Hart examines the various links between business and government, and the ways these have changed in the open and democratic forms that are emerging. Salim discusses a series of case studies of ‘Muslim politics’, the pressure of the religious majority imposing its views on others and the risks of marginalisation and possible harm to Indonesia’s national integration.

The third and final section focuses upon Indonesia’s civil service and legal system. Synnerstrom analyses the ‘corruption culture’ and militaristic style of civil service introduced by Suharto. He discusses the challenge of reforming the bureaucracy so as to ensure greater transparency and accountability, which in turn is fundamental to fostering an effective democracy. Butt explores the search for a balance between judicial independence and judicial accountability. He certainly does not pull his punches, noting that the problems faced by the Supreme Court and the courts below ‘have brought the judicial system to the brink of complete dysfunction’ (p.184).

This book makes a useful contribution to the understanding of the fast-changing and complicated political structure of Indonesia. Naturally common threads recur throughout the book, but the carefully structured foci of the individual chapters ensure that they do not needlessly duplicate one another. The themes of the chapters beneficially interrelate. Several of its chapters would make excellent required reading for students of a range of social scientific disciplines focusing upon Southeast Asia, as well as making interesting reading for the specialist.