Most comparative theorists of democracy have described Asia's political parties as highly personalized, weakly rooted and ideologically hollow. Indonesia has not been exempted from this assessment, with many authors identifying parties as the weakest link in the country's young democracy. But a more systematic analysis of Indonesian parties offers a different perspective. This article uses analytical tools developed by Paul Webb and Stephen White to assess the popular legitimacy, organizational rootedness and systemic functionality of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. The discussion shows that, despite well known deficiencies, the party has a clearly defined constituency, possesses moderately strong roots in society and plays an important role in interest aggregation and articulation. Accordingly, this case study sheds a new light on deeply entrenched stereotypes of party politics in Asia and other transitional democracies.
AmbardiKuskridho (2009), Mengungkap Politik Kartel: Studi Tentang Sistem Kepartaian di Indonesia Era Reformasi [Uncovering Cartel Politics: A Study of Indonesia's Party System in the Reform Era], Lembaga Survei Indonesia, Jakarta.
2.
AspinallEdward (2010), ‘Princess of populism’, Inside Indonesia, Vol 99.
3.
BadohIbrahim Z. FahmyDahlanAbdullah (2010), Korupsi Pemilu di Indonesia [Election Corruption in Indonesia], ICW and TIFA, Jakarta.
4.
BuehlerMichaelTanPaige Johnson (2007), ‘Party–candidate relationships in Indonesian local politics: A case study of the 2005 regional elections in Gowa, South Sulawesi province’, Indonesia, Vol 84, pp 41–69.
5.
CarothersThomas (2011), ‘Egypt and Indonesia’, The New Republic, 2 February.
6.
ChhibberPradeep (2011), ‘Dynastic parties: Organization, finance, impact’, Party Politics Online, May, pp 1–19.
7.
ChoiNankyung (2009), ‘Democracy and patrimonial politics in local Indonesia’, Indonesia, Vol 88, pp 131–164.
8.
ChuYun-HanLinJih-Wen (2001), ‘Political development in 20th century Taiwan: State building regime transformation and the construction of national identity’, The China Quarterly, Vol 165, pp 102–129.
9.
CoEdna (2005), Philippine Democracy Assessment: Free and Fair Elections and the Democratic Role of Political Parties, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Manila.
10.
CroissantAurelVölkelPhilip (2012), ‘Party system types and party system institutionalization: Comparing new democracies in East and Southeast Asia’, Party Politics, Vol 18, pp 235–265.
11.
CrouchHarold (2003), ‘Political update 2002: Megawati's holding operation’, in AspinallEdwardFealyGreg, eds, Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and Democratisation, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, pp 15–34.
12.
DomínguezAlejandro Díaz (2010), ‘The impact of religion on party identification in the Americas’, AmericasBarometer Insights, No 5, website: www.AmericasBarometer.org.
13.
EklofStefan (2003), Power and Political Culture in Suharto's Indonesia: The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the Decline of the New Order (1986–98), NIAS Press, Copenhagen.
14.
FealyGreg (1998), ‘Ulama and politics in Indonesia: A history of Nahdlatul Ulama, 1952–1967’, PhD dissertation, Department of History, Monash University, Melbourne.
15.
HarisSyamsuddin (1991), PPP dan Politik Orde Baru [PPP and the Politics of the New Order], Gramedia, Jakarta.
16.
HermannsHeike (2009), ‘Political parties in South Korea and Taiwan after twenty years of democratization’, Pacific Focus, Vol 24, pp 205–224.
17.
HickenAllen (2009), Building Party Systems in Developing Democracies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
18.
HindleyDonald (1966), The Communist Party of Indonesia, 1951–1963, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA.
19.
HinnebuschRaymond (2006), ‘Authoritarian persistence, democratization theory and the Middle East: An overview and critique’, Democratization, Vol 13, No 3, pp 373–395.
20.
IFES (2010), Indonesia Electoral Survey 2010, IFES, Washington, DC.
21.
JandaKenneth (2009), ‘Laws against party switching, defecting, or floor-crossing in national parliaments’, paper prepared for the 2009 Congress of the International Political Science Association, 12–16 July, Santiago, Chile.
22.
JasiewiczKrzysztof (2007), ‘Poland: Party system by default’, in WebbPaulWhiteStephen, eds, Party Politics in New Democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
23.
KammenDouglas (2011), ‘The armed forces in Timor-Leste: Politicization through elite conflict’, in MietznerMarcus, ed, The Political Resurgence of the Military in Southeast Asia, Routledge, London, pp 107–126.
24.
Kompas (2010), Wajah DPR & DPD, 2009–2014: Latar Belakang Pendidikan dan Karier [The Profile of DPR & DPD: Academic and Career Background], Kompas, Jakarta.
25.
LayCornelis (2010), Melawan Negara: PDI, 1973–1986 [Fighting Against the State: PDI, 1973–1986], UGM, Yogyakarta.
26.
Lembaga Survei Indonesia (2010), Party ID: Merasa Dekat dengan Partai Tertentu [Party ID: Associating to a Certain Party], Lembaga Survei Indonesia, Jakarta.
27.
Lembaga Survei Indonesia (2010), Evaluasi Kinerja Pemerintahan SBY-Boediono: Sebuah Evaluasi Publik [Evaluation of SBY-Boediono's Government: A Public Evaluation], Lembaga Survei Indonesia, Jakarta.
28.
Lingkaran Survei Indonesia (2009), Peta Kekuatan Partai Politik Menjelang Pemilu [Mapping the Strength of Political Parties Towards the General Election], Lingkaran Survei Indonesia, Jakarta.
29.
MachmudiYon (2008), Islamising Indonesia: The Rise of Jemaah Tarbiyah and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Australian National University e-Press, Canberra.
30.
McCargoDuncan (1997), ‘Thailand's political parties: Real, authentic and actual’, in HewinsonKevin, ed, Political Change in Thailand, Routledge, London, pp 114–131.
31.
MietznerMarcus (2000), ‘The 1999 General Session: Wahid, Megawati and the fight for the presidency’, in ManningChrisVan DiermenPeter, eds, Indonesia in Transition: Social Aspects of Reformasi and Crisis, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies/Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
32.
MomenMehnaaz (2009), ‘Bangladesh in 2008: Déjà vu again or a return to democracy?’Asian Survey, Vol 49, No 1, pp 66–73.
33.
MortimerRex (1974), Indonesian Communism Under Sukarno: Ideology and Politics, 1959–1965, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, and London.
34.
MuhtadiBurhanuddin (2012), Dilema PKS: Suara dan Syariah [The PKS Dilemma: Between Elections and Syariah], Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, Jakarta.
35.
MujaniSaifulLiddleR. William (2009), ‘Voters and the new democracy’, slide presentation at the Australian National University, Canberra, 9 October.
36.
MujaniSaifulLiddleR. William (2010), ‘Voters and the new Indonesian democracy’, in AspinallEdwardMietznerMarcus, eds, Problems of Democratisation in Indonesia: Elections, Institutions and Society, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
37.
NoerperStephen (2007), ‘Mongolia in 2006: Land of the rising Khan’, Asian Survey, Vol 47, No 1, pp 74–79.
38.
PerjuanganPDI (2010), ‘Laporan Pertanggungjawaban Dewan Pimpinan Pusat PDI Perjuangan Masa Bakti 2005–2010’ [Accountability report to the Central Leadership Body of PDI Perjuangan, 2005–2010], PDI Perjuangan, Denpasar.
39.
PedersenMogen (1979), ‘The dynamics of European party systems: Changing patterns of electoral volatility’, European Journal of Political Research, Vol 7, pp 1–26.
40.
ReeveDavid (1985), Golkar of Indonesia: An Alternative to the Party System, Oxford University Press, Singapore.
41.
RocamoraJ. Eliseo (1975), Nationalism in Search of Ideology: The Indonesian Nationalist Party, 1945–1965, Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, Quezon City.
42.
SlaterDan (2004), ‘Indonesia's accountability trap: Party cartels and presidential power after democratic transition’, Indonesia, Vol 78, pp 61–92.
43.
SuryadinataLeo (1989), Military Ascendance and Political Culture: A Study of Indonesia's Golkar, Ohio University, Athens, OH.
44.
TanPaige Johnson (2006), ‘Indonesia seven years after Soeharto: Party system institutionalization in a new democracy’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Vol 28, pp 88–114.
45.
Tempointeraktif (2007), ‘PDI Perjuangan Klaim Miliki 23 Juta Anggota’ [PDI Perjuangan claims to have 23 million members], Tempointeraktif, 10 September.
46.
TomsaDirk (2008), Party Politics and Democratization in Indonesia: Golkar in the Post-Suharto Era, Routledge, London and New York.
47.
Van BiezenIngridKopeckyPetr (2007), ‘The state and the parties: Public funding, public regulation and rent-seeking in contemporary democracies’, Party Politics, Vol 13, No 2, pp 235–254.
48.
Van der KroefJustus M. (1965), The Communist Party of Indonesia: Its History, Program and Tactics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
49.
WardKen (1970), The Foundation of the Partai Muslimin Indonesia, Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, Ithaca, NY.
50.
WebbPaul D. (1995), ‘Are British political parties in decline?’Party Politics, Vol 1, pp 299–322.
51.
WebbPaulD.FarrellM.HolidayI. (2002), Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
52.
WebbPaulWhiteStephen (2007), Party Politics in New Democracies, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
