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How does economic hardship during a crisis affect people's evaluation of the political leadership? In this paper, we investigate how the negative impact of an exogenous event like COVID-19 interacts with other important phenomena which influence leadership approval, such as partisanship, political trust, and satisfaction with democracy. Using a nationally representative survey in Indonesia (N = 1,200), we show that economic hardship does not uniformly undermine leadership approval; rather, this effect is moderated by partisanship and by satisfaction with the functioning of democracy. Of the people who voted for President Jokowi in the 2019 election, those who faced economic hardship gave him lower levels of approval than those who were better-off. At the same time, those satisfied with the functioning of democracy in the country reported higher approval even if they faced economic hardship. We discuss the policy implications of our findings and provide a theoretical framework for the mechanisms that affect leadership approval during a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall of Suharto in 1998 opened up a new space for the public articulation of Chinese identity in Indonesia. Since the decrees that lifted the ban on Chinese language, Mandarin classes have had an unprecedented boom. This paper reflects on this phenomenon in the geopolitical context of the economic rise of China and its promotion of soft power, as well as the market forces that reward Mandarin competency in contemporary Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jockeying ahead of the 2024 national elections took center stage in Indonesia's political landscape in 2023. The selection of President Jokowi's son for a vice-presidential ticket signaled the continuation and intensification of dynastic politics. The economy faced headwinds, but Indonesia's trade balance remained in surplus and inflation was tamed. The government promoted its green transition agenda while facing pushback from local communities on environmental and labor issues. In foreign policy, the country hosted the ASEAN Summit, and Jokowi engaged in a flurry of diplomatic travels in the twilight of his presidency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After another surge in cases, COVID-19 slowly receded from Indonesia's foreground in 2022 as restrictions were lifted, schools and businesses reopened, and the economy rebounded. The Jokowi government posted several legislative victories while also testing the guardrails of democracy, for example with a public push to postpone the 2024 presidential elections. Corruption and misconduct grabbed global and national headlines and riveted the nation. In foreign policy, Indonesia chaired the G20 in a challenging year for the world economy and global politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have been conducted about the presidential coattail effect in presidential democracies, but few have considered multiparty presidential elections. These few studies find that the effect does exist in multiparty presidential elections but their effect is unevenly distributed among the members of the party coalitions that nominate the presidential candidate. We follow these theoretical insights by presenting the case of Indonesia, the world's largest multiparty presidential democracy. Using election result data and national survey data, including experimental surveys, we find that in Indonesia the size and direction of the presidential coattail effect depend on whether the party is a core or peripheral member of the coalition, its role in the coalition, and its size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars argue that democracy tames religious fundamentalism. This inclusion-moderation theory holds that when radical religious movements are incorporated in the democratic system, they have incentives to adhere to institutional frameworks to influence politics and access power. But despite these claims, we have witnessed a growing influence of religious fundamentalism in Asian democratic politics, with immoderation becoming prominent. Why have religious fundamentalist movements become influential in various democracies in Asia? How have they shaped policies? Using a most-different-systems approach, I investigate religious fundamentalism in two dissimilar democracies: Islamic fundamentalism in Indonesia and Christian fundamentalism in South Korea. In both cases, I argue that religious fundamentalist movements facilitate immoderate politics through strong mobilization capacity, agenda-setting power, and framing. The study contributes to the inclusion-moderation literature through its discussion of religious fundamentalism and its cross-religious comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the politics of pollution control in Indonesia. This paper focuses on the agenda of pollution control in Indonesia and the recent developments in policies as the past aspects have been concerned either in aesthetics and not directly focused on public health. After Indonesia began to industrialize in the 1970s, the phenomenon of pollution was a distinct problem on the rise. Population protection was not a very much concern and public hygiene was not the central focus of policy agenda. Pollution is one of the issues that might force out to other social and political forces to realign novel ways for deeper structural changes.

We present findings from eight nationally representative surveys conducted during the 2019 Indonesian presidential campaign, in which we measured voters' reported belief in prominent pieces of misinformation. Younger, bettereducated, and wealthier voters were more likely to believe the misinformation. These results are true for stories about both the incumbent (Joko Widodo) and the challenger (Prabowo Subianto). These findings represent a significant departure from results in Western Europe and North America, where a surge in misinformation has disproportionately targeted older and less educated voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late twentieth century, the Chinese communities in Indonesia and Malaysia were politically repressed. But recent events have prompted optimism that the Chinese communities in both countries could move forward and claim their rightful place as equal citizens. But while the Indonesian Chinese community appears to have made some headway, the situation in Malaysia has not improved, and in some ways, it is worse. We argue that institutional frameworks and political Islam are the main threats to political rights for the Chinese communities in both countries and that there are lessons to be learned from these neighboring nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explains the politics of financial reforms in Indonesia by applying the theory of veto players. By comparing the periods during and after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs, I analyze temporal variations in the effects of the IMF and the number of veto players on financial reforms in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent are jihadists in Indonesia disengaging from violence? Based on original fieldwork in Jakarta and Central Sulawesi, including interviews with 23 current and former Poso-based jihadists, we examine the emotional, psychological, rational, and relational factors that can lead militants to turn away from terror tactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses public perceptions about the idea of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Community in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, focusing on obstacles to the formation of the regional community. Based on public opinion surveys, the authors note obstacles facing regional integration in Southeast Asia such as disparity in education levels, the lack of economic competitiveness of many ASEAN countries, and countries' dependency on aid from developed countries. Other topics include socioeconomic disparity, varying legal and political systems in ASEAN countries, and technological limitations in ASEAN countries.

The article focuses on the patterns of Islamist mobilization in the Muslim-majority democracy Indonesia citing the faith-based political party Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). It notes the electoral rise and successful expansion of PKS to rural constituencies, winning over 1,000 legislative seats at national and sub-national levels in 2009. It also explores party-mass relations basing on the two patterns of Islamist mobilization in the country such as the ability of Islamists to establish a solid support base in urban constituencies, and the spatial variation in Islamist penetration over time. Moreover, it cites theoretical positions to describe popular allegiance to the Islamists, the cultural framing approach and resource mobilization approach.

The article discusses foreign relations between India and Indonesia. It presents an overview of the history of their interactions, beginning in the Cold War era and extending to 21st-century diplomacy concerning the Strait of Malacca. An argument is presented that the two countries have the potential to develop an extensive partnership in terms of international security issues. The question of whether this is likely to occur rapidly or slowly is addressed, and the complementary aspects of their national interests are analyzed.

In this article the author analyzes the system of political parties participating in Indonesia's parliamentary elections beginning in 1999. The central focus of the article is on the author's contention that the significant increase in the number of political parties in Indonesia cannot be explained in terms of the population size of electoral districts or owing to the range of diverse social backgrounds of the electorate. The author suggests that the increase may come as a result of the introduction of presidential elections and new political and social issues.

In this article the author argues that differences in the nature of the domestic audiences in the Southeast Asian countries of Singapore and Indonesia explain the divergence of their securitization policy responses following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States. The author notes that the two countries were chosen for this discussion because of the differences in their government characteristics and their domestic politics. The article also notes that prior to the above date, members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, did not consider terrorism to be an urgent national or regional security concern.

This article discusses Indonesia's plan to build nuclear power plants in order for it to meet the rapidly rising demand for more energy. The article notes that an anti-nuclear alliance has formed from grassroots organizations motivated by distrust of the government's ability to manage such high-risk technology. The article examines Indonesia's nuclear power program and the groups opposed to it. A protest of plans to build four nuclear power plants on the north central coast of Java is described. The article presents highlights of the energy crisis that has led to the resurrection of the nuclear power plan.

The article discusses the state of foreign relations between Indonesia and China current in 2009. The author notes that relations between the two countries have improved steadily since 1998. The central focus of the article is the author's contention that the re-engagement of Indonesia with China is the result of alterations in Indonesia's domestic politics and government. The change is also attributed to the Chinese adoption of a foreign policy position with regard to the countries of South-east Asia.

This article investigates efforts by Indonesia and Vietnam to achieve hegemony within their respective sub-regions of Southeast Asia. The two countries have exercised both benevolent and coercive power in their foreign policy. The article examines under which circumstances uses of benevolent and coercive instruments have helped the countries attain hegemony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the dynamics of political Islam in the world's largest Muslim democracy. It analyzes the changes that have taken place in an increasingly pious electorate, the performance and organizational strength of six Islam-friendly political parties, and predicts the likely future trajectory of political Islam in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]