Indonesia’s Laboratory of Democracy
What Can We Learn from the World’s 3rd Largest Democracy?
Welcome to another essay from Civic Way’s series on global democracies. The author, Bruce Anderson, is an advisor to Civic Way. Bruce has an MBA and over 45 years of management experience with private entities like Price Waterhouse and public sector entities like the Cleveland Public Schools. He has managed projects for numerous other agencies, including colleges, schools, cities and counties. Bruce also served in the Peace Corps.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies come in many forms, but they face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments, some federated structures. Some an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. Some structural variations are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic roots.
To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many nations refine their constitutions, laws and cultural norms. Learning about these changes, and the risks they were intended to address, could yield promising ideas for preserving and improving our own democracy.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies come in many forms, but they face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments, some federated structures. Some an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. Some structural variations are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic roots.
To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many nations refine their constitutions, laws and cultural norms. Learning about these changes, and the risks they were intended to address, could yield promising ideas for preserving and improving our own democracy.
An Introduction to Indonesia
The Republic of Indonesia is what the Economist recently called the “most important country that people routinely overlook.” With over 275 million people, it is the world’s largest Muslim-majority, third-biggest democracy and fourth most populous nation. It also has one of the world’s largest economies[i] and Southeast Asia’s largest economy and only G20 member nation.
Indonesia straddles Southeast Asia and Oceania—and two oceans—and encompasses 735,000 square miles (nearly the size of Mexico). With over 17,000 islands (of which 6,000 are permanently inhabited), Indonesia has hundreds of ethnic groups and languages (Indonesian is the official language). It shares land borders with three countries and maritime borders with another seven.
The Indonesia archipelago’s location shapes it to this day. Its proximity to vital sea trade routes once brought it Islam, but also European ships and colonization. Its setting, nearly equidistant from China, India and Japan (even closer to Southeast Asia and Australia), makes it a natural foreign trade partner. However, its vulnerability to rising seas has exacerbated worries about the future of its environmentally besieged (and sinking) capital city, Jakarta (with over 10.5 million residents).
Indonesia declared its independence from the Netherlands in 1945 (eventually recognized by the Dutch in 1949). The new nation’s leaders adopted the Five Principles (Pancasila[ii]), a core ideology for guiding its future. In the decades following World War II, however, authoritarian rule often ignored these principles. In recent decades, however, Indonesia has renewed its focus on democracy.
Indonesia’ Government Structure
The 1945 adoption of Indonesia’s Constitution was followed by years of authoritarian government (the “New Order” and 32-year Suharto dictatorship) until its collapse, and the rebirth of democracy, in the late 1990s. In 1999, Indonesia held legislative elections—its first free elections since 1955.
In 2002, the nation amended its Constitution to require the popular election of the President and Vice President. In 2004, Indonesia conducted its first presidential election. Today, Indonesia has a presidential republic with three independent, coequal branches:
Executive branch – The President serves as head of state and government. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a cabinet-level agency, monitors public official ethics and investigates (and prosecutes) corruption cases.
Legislative branch – The national legislature, the People's Representative Council (PRC), appears bicameral, but is effectively unicameral. The lower chamber—House of Representatives (DPR)—has 575 seats. The upper chamber—the House of Regional Representatives (DPD)—has 136 members. The DPD is an advisory body with no direct law-making powers.
Judicial branch – The Supreme Court, with 51 justices, serves as the final appellate court and oversees all lower courts, including the military and religious courts. The Constitutional Court, with nine justices, was established in 2003 to review the constitutionality of national laws and adjudicate election, political party dissolution and impeachment cases. It has no appellate jurisdiction.
Below the Supreme Court, Indonesia has a lesser court system with four subdivisions— General Jurisdiction, Religious, State Administrative and Military courts—and two appellate levels—the District and High courts. The 68 High Courts hear appeals from the 250 or so District Courts. Indonesia’s complex judicial system evolved from two primary sources, Dutch colonial law and Islamic law (sharia).
Indonesia has four major levels of sub-national government—provinces, regencies/cities, districts and villages. The 34 provinces are led by elected governors and legislatures[iii]. The regencies and cities, the chief administrative units for most public services, are led by regents (or mayors) and councils. Next there are districts and villages. Villages, in turn, are subdivided into communities or hamlets.
An Overview of Indonesia’s Democracy
The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index (DI) ranks Indonesia as a “flawed democracy” with a 6.71 score (10-point scale), up from 6.3 in 2020, but down from its peak of 7.0 in 2015. It is ranked 52nd among 167 nations, and 9th among 28 nations in Asia/Australasia, right behind India. Indonesia’s DI scores are relatively high in every category except political culture[iv].
The Freedom House labels Indonesia “partly free” with 59 of 100 points. It added, “Indonesia has made impressive democratic gains since the fall of an authoritarian regime in 1998, establishing significant pluralism … and … undergoing multiple, peaceful transfers of power.” However, it noted Indonesia’s struggles with “systemic corruption, discrimination and violence against minority groups.”
Here are some other distinctive features of Indonesia’s democracy:
Voting – Every eligible voter (the legal voting age is 17) receives a national ID card. While voting is voluntary, Indonesia’s voter turnout rate was 82 percent in 2019[v].
Elections – National and local elections are held on the same day (a national holiday). The President and Vice President run together. Legislators are chosen from electoral districts within the provinces. The General Elections Commission (KPU) administers elections.
Campaign financing – Private campaign donations are permitted. The Election Oversight Agency (Bawaslu) monitors campaigns and election practices.
Executive branch – Presidential candidates must represent parties or coalitions with at least 20 percent of the PRC seats or 25 percent of the last national legislative vote.
Legislative branch – The 575 DPR members are elected in 34 multi-member districts. The 136 DPD members are elected on a non-partisan basis.
Legislative representation – Each electoral district is allocated legislative seats. Parties surpassing the requisite threshold (i.e., four percent of the national legislative vote) are allotted legislative seats using the Webster/Sainte-Lague party-list proportional representation method.
Judicial branch – Supreme Court justices are nominated by the Judicial Commission, confirmed by the DPR and appointed by the President. They, in turn, choose the chief justice. Constitutional Court justices are nominated by the President, PRC and Supreme Court (three each). Many lesser court judges are appointed by the President. Most judges are members of the civil service.
Term limits – The President and Vice-President serve no more than two five-year terms. Legislators have five-year terms but no term limits. The Constitutional Court justices serve for up to 15 years or the age of 70, whichever comes first.
Removal process – The PRC may impeach the President or Vice President. The impeachment process involves three steps—DPR indictment, suspension from office and Constitutional Court ruling. The PRC last impeached the President in 2001 (before the current process was implemented).
No party has gained majority control. Today, nine parties hold legislative seats. The largest party, the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), holds less than 1/4 of the seats. The other parties with seats include the Party of the Functional Groups (Golkar), National Mandate Party (PAN) Party, Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Partai NasDem, Democratic Party (PD), National Awakening Party (PKB), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and United Development Party (PPP).
Under Indonesian law, citizens may organize political parties that support the Constitution and Pancasila (Communist parties are banned). The application process is relatively easy to navigate.
Indonesia’s Recent Political Landscape
Since 1999, Indonesia’s rival parties have repeatedly carried out peaceful, democratic power transfers. The last transition was in 2014, when the PDI-P regained power after losing the two prior elections.
In the 2019 national election, Joko Widodo, the PDI-P nominee, won a second presidential term with 55 percent of the 158 million votes cast[vi]. The PDI-P also won 22 percent of the DRP seats. The Golkar Party won 15 percent, Gerindra 13 percent, Partai NasDem 10 percent and PAN Party eight percent. The remaining seats were split among four other parties.
Indonesia is finding its place on the world stage. Internationally, Indonesia is becoming more engaged, even hosting the recent G20 Summit. Domestically, its plans to move its capital from Jakarta to a new city in Borneo (Nusantara) are attracting global attention.
Possible Lessons for the US
Indonesia’s democracy has many noteworthy features. Some highlights:
Parties – Since 2002, the nation’s political pluralism—its highly competitive party landscape—has forced political leaders to collaborate and build coalitions. However, recent measures raising the threshold for PRC representation could discourage the creation of small parties.
Voting – Various measures, including a standard voter ID card, national election holiday and nationwide election administration, seem to have enhanced electoral integrity across the nation’s many islands and polling places.
Elections – Holding national and local elections at the same time may have contributed to an increase in voter turnout (from 69 percent in 2014 to 82 percent in 2019).
Campaign financing – Indonesia’s effort to eliminate political corruption (e.g., vote buying) prompted the 2021 dismissal of 51 Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employees. However, laws weakening the KPK and bureaucratic conflicts could undermine anticorruption efforts.
Executive Branch – Limiting presidential candidates to those representing parties or coalitions with at least 20 percent of the PRC seats and 25 percent of the national vote may impede new or small parties from fielding candidates in the presidential race.
Legislative representation – While some election laws (e.g., higher thresholds for PRC seats) favor established parties, the current party-list proportional representation method encourages pluralism. Despite the nation’s impressive political pluralism, some constituencies remain poorly represented (e.g., ethnic Chinese, religious minorities, and LGBT+ people).
Judicial branch – According to the Freedom House, “the court system remains plagued by corruption and other weaknesses.” The Supreme Court’s supervision of lesser courts, including the religious courts, may abate religious interference. The Judicial Commission was created to enforce codes of conduct and ensure the judiciary’s independence, but the Supreme Court has resisted.
Term limits – The President’s term limits ensure some turnover. The Constitutional Court term/age limits may enhance the Court’s independence, especially on political matters (e.g., elections, impeachment, and the dissolution of political parties).
Removal process – The fact that the presidential impeachment process has worked in the past lends credence to its potential efficacy as an accountability tool for future executives.
Indonesia is Islamic, and a democracy. While there are concerns about corruption, military influence and civil servant restrictions, Indonesia may be showing the world how to sustain a democracy in the face of political, theocratic and cultural headwinds.
We cannot perfect our union without perfecting our democracy. This will require us to not only learn from our own successes and setbacks, but the feats and failures of other nations. Reviewing the successes of other nations and the barriers they overcame will help us strengthen our democracy.