Western concepts and political decision

You printed excellent reports on the activities of the fourth Conference of the European Association for Southeast Asian Studies (EUROSEAS) held in Paris, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4 mainly in Sorbonne in the Sept. 9, 10 and 14 editions of The Jakarta Post, but the reports missed the Panel 18 that took place in French Parliament. I would like to highlight the conclusion of Panel 18 that is very essential for explaining democracy in Indonesia.

Panel 18 was the only EUROSEAS 2004 panel that was accompanied by proceedings. Eight selected papers, including my paper Le resorts de la decision politique Indonesie, were included in a special issue of Peninsula No. 48/2004. The theme of the Panel 18, Traditional Political Structure under the Influence of Democracy in Southeast Asia, was introduced by French scholar William Gueraiche. My article proposes a new methodology in predicting political decisions.

Panel 18 was trying to make clear what democracy in Southeast Asia looks like. What is the relevance of Western concepts in understanding Southeast Asian democracy? What does democracy mean in Indonesia, or what does republic signify in the Philippines?

There were two papers on Indonesian matters. One was mine and the other was by a German scholar on the rise of Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS).

My article explained how it could be very dangerous to use certain Western concepts to understand Southeast Asian politics -- the result could be erroneous. It also provides an alternative framework to improve the existing concept. We need to understand more about our plural ethnicities, our rural-based society that reflects agrarian values, which are basically conservative, our multireligious, social life that is growing alongside the growth of economic activities, our education systems that shape values and determine the elite and middle class.

Studying democracy and designing democratic society are two sides of the same coin. Ideally, interactive communication between two sides should be developed intensively to understand each other.

DIAH ASITADANI Department of Political Science University of Geneva

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