Jokowi's challenge: the structural problems of governance in democratic Indonesia

Abstract

The inauguration of Joko Widodo—popularly called “Jokowi”—as Indonesia’snew president in October 2014 has been widely celebrated as a victory for thecountry’s young democracy. A local furniture entrepreneur who worked his wayup from the mayorship of a small town in Central Java to the palace, Jokowi is thefirst Indonesian president not to have originated from traditional elite networksconnected to the military, bureaucracy, or party machines. Moreover, on hisway to power, he defeated a right-wing populist who had offered to return Indo-nesia to a predemocratic political format. Had Prabowo Subianto—the formerson-in-law of ex-autocrat Suharto and a leading general under his repressiverule—won the presidency, Indonesia would have faced many years of politicalturmoil and a possible democratic reversal. Instead, Jokowi’s coming to powersecured the continuation of Indonesia’s democratization process. Show more