Western concepts and political decision<\/p>\n
You printed excellent reports on the activities of the fourth
\nConference of the European Association for Southeast Asian
\nStudies (EUROSEAS) held in Paris, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4 mainly
\nin Sorbonne in the Sept. 9, 10 and 14 editions of The Jakarta
\nPost, but the reports missed the Panel 18 that took place in
\nFrench Parliament. I would like to highlight the conclusion of
\nPanel 18 that is very essential for explaining democracy in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Panel 18 was the only EUROSEAS 2004 panel that was accompanied
\nby proceedings. Eight selected papers, including my paper Le
\nresorts de la decision politique Indonesie, were included in a
\nspecial issue of Peninsula No. 48\/2004. The theme of the Panel
\n18, Traditional Political Structure under the Influence of
\nDemocracy in Southeast Asia, was introduced by French scholar
\nWilliam Gueraiche. My article proposes a new methodology in
\npredicting political decisions.<\/p>\n
Panel 18 was trying to make clear what democracy in Southeast
\nAsia looks like. What is the relevance of Western concepts in
\nunderstanding Southeast Asian democracy? What does democracy mean
\nin Indonesia, or what does republic signify in the Philippines?<\/p>\n
There were two papers on Indonesian matters. One was mine and
\nthe other was by a German scholar on the rise of Partai Keadilan
\nSejahtera (PKS).<\/p>\n
My article explained how it could be very dangerous to use
\ncertain Western concepts to understand Southeast Asian politics
\n-- the result could be erroneous. It also provides an alternative
\nframework to improve the existing concept. We need to understand
\nmore about our plural ethnicities, our rural-based society that
\nreflects agrarian values, which are basically conservative, our
\nmultireligious, social life that is growing alongside the growth
\nof economic activities, our education systems that shape values
\nand determine the elite and middle class.<\/p>\n
Studying democracy and designing democratic society are two
\nsides of the same coin. Ideally, interactive communication
\nbetween two sides should be developed intensively to understand
\neach other.<\/p>\n
DIAH ASITADANI
\nDepartment of Political Science
\nUniversity of Geneva<\/p>\n
---------------------------------
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