Political repentance: can moderates ever forgive Anies?
2024 Indonesian Elections, Politics, ReligionThe vice presidential debate on 21 January garnered considerable public attention when Muhaimin Iskandar, the running mate of Anies Baswedan, borrowed the term 'ecological repentance' from Pope Francis. What does this tell us about the dynamics of religious politics in Indonesia?
The Indonesian presidential cult
2024 Indonesian Elections, PoliticsThe president is not some kind of rockstar or talisman to be adored. But even in the current era, most Indonesians – not only the lay people, but also the educated – continue to worship the president as a cult. They love and adore the president as a father figure.
Talking Indonesia: the presidential election
2024 Indonesian Elections, Politics, Talking IndonesiaWith the election just weeks away the campaign for the presidency is in full flight. In this week’s episode Jemma Purdey chats with Marcus Mietzner, Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.
Campaign costs impeding women’s political representation in Indonesia
2024 Indonesian Elections, Gender, PoliticsThere are several factors frustrating women’s political representation including voter beliefs about women’s leadership, gendered processes of candidate selection in political parties and the low numbers of women holding senior positions in the civil service. However, the possibility of improving women’s political representation in the upcoming February 2024 elections will also depend on overcoming arguably the biggest impediment to their election: money.
Aceh in the 2024 Indonesian elections: self-rule but shared spoils
2024 Indonesian Elections, Political parties, PoliticsAceh will also have its own provincial gubernatorial and legislative elections in November this year. One leading candidate for Aceh’s governor is Muzakir “Mualem” Manaf, who is again chairing Prabowo’s Aceh campaign. There is a good chance that both will be victorious in 2024.
Prabowo Subianto: Indonesia’s perennial strongman recast as the adorable grandpa
2024 Indonesian Elections, PoliticsPrabowo's political trajectory is a case study of resilience and reinvention. Throughout his long career he has faced accusations of war crimes, incompetence and even treason – and yet his detractors have never managed to end his political influence. This is due, in part, to Prabowo’s ability to repeatedly adapt his image. But as the 2024 election approaches, it is his most recent persona – that of an adorable grandpa for Indonesia’s Generation Z and millennial voters – that could be his most savvy.
A twist in Indonesia’s presidential election does not bode well for the country’s fragile democracy
2024 Indonesian Elections, Law, PoliticsOn Valentine’s Day next year, Indonesia will go to the polls for its most important election in ten years.After months of uncertainty, Jokowi and his circle have come out strongly in support for Prabowo, with Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, announced as his vice presidential running mate in recent days.
Another BRIC in the wall? Indonesia’s BRICS dilemma
Foreign Policy, PoliticsOn August 2023, President Widodo attended the 15th annual BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in Indonesia’s capacity as ASEAN Chair. Indonesia will remain outside BRICS for the time being. But big questions remain. Will Indonesia will join the bloc in the future? And does Indonesia share BRICS’ enthusiasm for challenging Western dominance of the international order?
The Anies-Muhaimin Candidacy: mutual desperation or marriage of convenience?
2024 Indonesian Elections, PoliticsThe Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar candidacy for the upcoming 2024 presidential election stitches together a disparate patchwork of ideological and religious interests. Virdika Rizky Utama dissects how this announcement impacts the political calculus in 2024.