An expert's eye on problems, prospects for domestic politics
An expert's eye on problems, prospects for domestic politics
Leadership and Culture in Indonesian Politics
By R. William Liddle
Allen and Unwin Pty Ltd., NSW, Australia.
314 pages
Rp 40,000
JAKARTA (JP): R. William Liddle is no stranger to students of
Indonesian politics. He is one of several well-known foreign
political scientists whose main research interest is the
Indonesian political system. His research since the beginning of
the 1960s attests to his wish to explore deeper "the secrecy of
the uniqueness of Indonesian politics".
This is reflected in this collection of some of his many
essays published in various journals and periodicals from 1984
to 1993. These collectively cover two central concerns of his
research on Indonesia -- the longevity of the New Order and the
factors that might shape political change in the future.
The book, consisting of 10 essays, is divided into two parts.
Part one, a collection of four essays written during the middle
to late 1980s, deals mainly with explanatory analyses of the
regime's management in preserving its power. The first chapter,
"Soeharto's Indonesia: Personal Rule and Political Institutions",
for example, is a very clear analysis of the structuralization
process of power politics which, on the one hand, eliminates and
domesticates political oppositions, and on the other, increases
and strengthens political legitimation of the regime.
Another significant political instrument for the maintenance
of the regime's legitimacy is the call for popular participation
in the government's policymaking process. In examining cases of
conflict in rice and sugar policy ("The Politics of Shared
Growth: Some Indonesian Cases"), Liddle writes that the decision
process within the system is complex and actually involves some
elements of participation by groups outside the government. He
concludes that New Order stability is actually in part a product
of outside-the-state participation.
It is obvious that the way Indonesian politics has developed
in the New Order era has brought about "new political culture" in
which its manner and characteristics differ markedly from its
predecessor. The two other essays in the first part focus on this
topic. The author recommends (particularly to students of
comparative politics) that there is a need to rethink our
conception of political culture and the role it plays in
political life. "Political culture is less as a set of fixed,
deeply held values and beliefs, uni-directionally determining
behavior, and more as a loose assemblage of ideas, some of which
are flexible and open to change and manipulation by politician
actors."
The second part comprises six essays written during the first-
half of the 1990s. Here, the author moves the focus from an
explanation of the longevity of President Soeharto and the New
Order to a concern with what lies ahead. A couple of reasons
explain this shift. Although President Soeharto is getting older,
he may well continue to dominate Indonesian politics into
advanced old age. As such, one may worry about the possibility of
increasing political tension not only in elite circles, but also
at the community level that could lead to more complex problems
in the development of Indonesian politics.
Second, based on the study of literature on the new
"transition" approach of democratization in comparative politics,
the author predicts political leadership will play a significant
role in directing the process of democratization in Indonesia.
This is also the explanatory argument that links the focus of the
first part of the book to the second.
By arguing for the significant role of political leadership,
it does not mean that only those in power have influence in the
process of democratization. Most importantly, popular leaders
might may significant democratic roles, at least in socializing
democratic culture and values. Chapter five, "Improvising
Political Cultural Change: Three Indonesian Cases," sets out to
prove that argument.
Considering the New Order government's success in controlling
and maintaining political order, the most interesting question is
whether the post President Soeharto era is likely to usher in
democracy. Part two of the book identifies problems that might
arise in that coming era. This could include a "war" between the
defenders and proponents of the regime's status quo and those
democratizers of the country. The latter, Liddle writes, are
actually growing in number but are still mainly composed of the
"urban-intelligentsia". This seems to be what is happening now in
the development of Indonesian politics.
Nevertheless, Liddle is optimistic in viewing the development
of Indonesian politics. He argues that "the forms of democracy
are already in place and need only be filled with democratic
content... Democratization will require changes in the role of
the army and the nature of the parties, but not in the
constitution itself".
Readers of this work will also be satisfied by some other
analyses of problems and issues in Indonesian politics, including
East Timor, the dual function of the Armed Forces and its future,
the succession issue, vulnerability of the Soeharto's aging New
Order regime, the complex development of Indonesia's political
Islam and challenges faced by the emergence of Indonesia's
democratic forces.
Liddle's arguments are persuasive, and whether one agrees with
them is perhaps not as important as having been guided through
the facts and analysis. They articles remain as relevant today as
when first written several years ago.
-- T.A. Legowo
The writer is a political researcher at the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.