Beurocratic Authoritarianism in Indonesia (1965-1997)

1
Beurocratic Authoritarianism in
Indonesia(1965-1997)

• brad hatch

2
The Old Regime

• Economic turmoil following Indonesian
  independence precipitated Suhartos rise to
  power.
• Falling export revenues with rising demands from
  urban constituents the Sukarno government moved
  toward deficit financing and anti-foreign
  nationalism.
• Inflation rose at a rapid rate such that by 1965
  it turned to hyperinflation
• Suharto seized the moment

3
Origins of B-A

• Suhato rose to power with the help of the army
• He immediately organized the destruction of the
  ethnic Chinese minority, which was believed to be
  the base of the PKI
• Conservative death tolls are in hundreds of
  thousands, while some reports cite more than
  1,000,000
• Amid the destruction Sukarno handed power over to
  Suharto on 11 March 1966
• Indonesia passed from the Old Order to the New
  Order

4
New Order

• Assumed power amidst great inflation and promptly
  sought stability for his regime.
• Built connections with a group of US trained
  Indonesian economists, AKA his technocrats
• Preached greater ties with the West, and Suharto
  took great pains to endear himself to the Western
  countries.
• As a result, generous flows of aid from abroad
  soon followed

5
Economic development

• Suharto and his technocrats felt that Indonesia
  couldn't compete with China at home or Westerners
  abroad.
• Encouraged multinational investment, which
  generated tax revenues
• This policy differed from that of the Old Order
  who got little tax revenue
• Throughout 1970s continued aid from Us, Japan,
  Europe
• foreign capital flowed in and foreign firms
  proliferated, while Suharto maintained social
  order
• consolidation of economic (as well as social and
  political) control from villages to national
  level.
• average economic growth of 8 per year during his
  three decade rule
• Indonesia made the journey from economic disarray
  to an Asian Tiger.

6
Eco devt contCrony Capitalism

• He also turned the country into a family business
• Suhartos family and friends were virtually
  synonymous with Indonesian big business
• Arranged economic life to the point where it was
  virtually impossible for an Indonesian to make
  any purchase without some profit ending up with
  the first family
• Within this context, there was much corruption
  within govt.
• 1997 World Bank report claimed that at least 30
  of govt development funds were diverted through
  informal payments to govt personnel and
  politicians and the ruling party faction GOLKAR.
• Before his resignation the the Suharto familys
  personal wealth had been estimated at 4 billion.

7
Political development

• Suharto was the dominate figure, who controlled
  all aspects of political life.
• Limited opposition, both in parties and media
• State had own political party-GOLAR, became
  compulsory political affiliation for all govt.
  employees
• During his rule, rival parties (of which only 2
  were permitted) were subject to significant state
  manipulation
• Thus, opposition was effectively silenced so the
  country (and by extension his family) could
  benefit economically.

8
Insecurity Forces

• Under Suhartos rule the military served as the
  president's right arm, constituting a powerful
  force that penetrated every village.
• The military were part of the political
  establishment, as the Indonesian constitution
  assigned them the dual function of defending the
  country from external invaders and guiding its
  internal political development.
• Also, they were assigned a block of seats (38) in
  the parliament, which was not very important
  during Suhartos rule as parliament simply served
  to rubber stamp the presidents policies
• But, this has the potential to complicate
  Indonesias transition to democracy since
  Suhartos fall

9
Beurocratic Authoritarianism

• Suhartos regime exemplifies B-A as defined by
  Waltz
• (1)Populist forces were controlled through a
  repressive state apparatus
• (2) Technocratic elite played an important role
  in rebuilding the economy once Suharto rose to
  power, and the military was utilized to maintain
  social order so uprisings would not impede
  economic success
• (3) Extreme centralization of public policy, such
  that Suharto dominated every aspect of political
  life a strong, unresponsive state (in terms of
  its typology)
• (4)As in Argentina and Brazil economic progress
  was not linked to democracy, as economic success
  linked to authoritarian rule for over 30 years
• this model falls in 1997

10
Economic Crisis

• In July 1997, shortly after the Thai baht was
  unpegged from the US dollar, investors and
  currency speculators, who were either nervous or
  opportunistic, started to test the "fundamentals"
  in other Asian countries by selling off stocks,
  calling in debts and dumping currencies, thus
  triggering the "contagion" effect which caused
  currencies and economies throughout the region to
  collapse. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
  were most severely affected, as relentless
  attacks on their currencies forced each, in turn,
  to abandon the fixed exchange rate and let the
  market determine the currency's value.
• Middle class assest were wiped out overnight no
  level of society escaped the pain
• eco crisis resulted in a backlash against Suharto

11
Political Crisis

• Suhartos legitimacy was undermined with the
  economic crisis, opposition to his rule
  strengthened quickly
• mass rioting ensued, hundreds were killed
• Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 , and
  Indonesia came full circle
• He left the country in economic disarray much
  like how he found it

12
Political transition

• The 1999 election marked the first free election
  since 1955, 46 parties competed.
• Calls for democracy during the economic crisis,
  but the general citizenry were more concerned
  with the price of staples than larger visions of
  democracy. One reporter suggested that many
  Indonesians did not care who won as long as they
  make it easier to buy rice, reflecting how the
  price of basic foods have risen since the Asian
  eco crisis. The price of food is the single
  greatest concern of ordinary Indonesians, much
  closer to their hearts than any strong desire to
  reform the political process.

13
Democratic Transition

• This ties into the concept of political culture,
  particularly after being subject to an
  authoritarian regime for more than 32 years most
  ordinary Indonesians would not have a meaningful
  conception of democracy. If democracy was not
  entrained into their political culture than it
  would not be able to surface.
• Thus, the authoritarian regime may have caused an
  authoritarian political culture, as few citizens
  had any understanding of meaningful political
  competition
• Democracy, thus, may have been seen as more of a
  means to an end (economic success) than an end in
  itself.

14
The Complications of transition

• military- still holds a significant degree of
  power, particularly because it is still
  politicized. It is thought that they gave the new
  President Wahid its 38 votes in parliament,
  therefore he may now feel he owes them something.
  Arguably, democracy can not be fully realized
  with solders holding seats in parliament, or
  until the president places the solders under
  civilian control.
• Ethnic politics- As a country with 200,000 people
  speaking 250 languages and representing 300
  different ethnicity's society has become
  increasingly divided since Suhartos fall. His
  authoritarianism held the various elements
  together, as he was able to repress the vast
  differences among citizens. In the past 12
  months, as many as 2000 have been killed in
  surges of religious warfare. (Muslim v. Christian
• Few people here have any understanding of
  healthy political or social competition. For some
  of them democracy means chaos and killing