How did democracy became entrenched in the world's largest Muslim-majority country? After the fall of its authoritarian regime in 1998, Indonesia pursued an unusual course of democratization. It was insider-dominated and gradualist and it involved free elections before a lengthy process of constitutional reform. At the end of the process, Indonesia's amended constitution was essentially a new and thoroughly democratic document. By proceeding as they did, the Indonesians averted the conflict that would have arisen between adherents of the old constitution and proponents of radical, immediate reform. Donald L. Horowitz documents the decisions that gave rise to this distinctive constitutional process. He then traces the effects of the new institutions on Indonesian politics and discusses their shortcomings and their achievements in steering Indonesia away from the dangers of polarization and violence. He also examines the Indonesian story in the context of comparative experience with constitutional design and intergroup conflict.

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Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia

This article argues that Indonesia's Constitutional Court has played a significant role in that country's transformation fro m a violence-prone polity into Southeast Asia's most stable democracy. The Court has advanced institutional conflict resolution mechanisms and expanded democratic rights—two achievements identified by Linz and Stepan as major indicators of a consolidating democracy. Building on models developed by Ginsburg and Horowitz, my analysis also illustrates why the Court has been able to defend its autonomy and become an agent of democratization. While sharing Ginsburg's emphasis on high levels of power diffusion as a key reason for the Court's success, this article moves beyond such an approach. Most importantly, it suggests that the judges' "judicial activism"—as expressed in a number of controversial but popular decision—increased Indonesian society's support for the Court to such an extent that is has now become largely invulnerable to attempts of external intervention.

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Political Conflict Resolution and Democratic Consolidation in Indonesia: The Role of the Constitutional Court

This article grapples with the tricky issue of democratic consolidation in post-Soeharto Indonesia. It recognizes the great strides the country has made toward establishing a rights-based democracy. This includes attempts to tackle the legacies of decades-long authoritarianism – for instance, those times when state elites have put self-interestedness aside to cooperate in the establishment of new institutions that promote genuine democratization. This article argues, however, that democratic consolidation in Indonesia will continue to be bedeviled due to the poor institutionalization of a democratic rule of law. Until state elites and government officials predictably can be relied upon to enforce democratic institutions, and are subject to the law themselves, then a meaningful deepening of Indonesia's elitist/electoral democracy will be unobtainable.

Dilemmas of democratic consolidation in Indonesia

This book presents the results of a research about the Islamic courts of Cianjur in West Java, and Bulukumba in South Sulawesi and the role they play in local divorce practices. It addresses questions which not only enhance our understanding of how Islamic courts in Indonesia work, but also of how Islamic courts through their everyday adjudication processes have the potential to transform societal norms based in national family law, Islamic law and customary law. What is the history of the Islamic courts in both districts and what are its consequences for their position in the local community? What role do the Islamic courts play in protecting women’s divorce rights? How do they perform with regard to spousal support, child support and marital property and why? How do the Islamic courts treat women’s and men’s claims? How has Indonesian family law for Muslims developed and what is the role of the Islamic courts in this development? How are Islamic courts positioned in Indonesia’s nation-building project? This book attempts to provide answers to those questions by exploring the Islamic courts’ institutional history in both districts, the development of the substantive law they apply, and the socio-cultural and economic aspects of divorce.

Islamic courts and women"s divorce rights in Indonesia

Comparative scholarship on judicial review has paid a lot of attention to the causal impact of politics on judicial decision-making However, the slower-moving, macro-social process through which judicial review influences societal conceptions of the law/politics relation is less well understood Drawing on the political science literature on institutional change, The Politico-Legal Dynamics of Judicial Review tests a typological theory of the evolution of judicial review regimes - complexes of legitimating ideas about the law/politics relation The theory posits that such regimes tend to conform to one of four main types - democratic or authoritarian legalism, or democratic or authoritarian instrumentalism Through case studies of Australia, India, and Zimbabwe, and a comparative chapter analyzing ten additional societies, the book then explores how actually-existing judicial review regimes transition between these types This process of ideational development, Roux concludes, is distinct both from the everyday business of constitutional politics and from changes to the formal constitution

The Politico-Legal Dynamics of Judicial Review: A Comparative Analysis

The Indonesian Supreme Court: A Study of Institutional Collapse

This chapter considers supreme audit institutions (SAIs) as a key pillar of accountability in the management and oversight of public funds, notably in emergency settings. It acknowledges that the primary role of SAIs is to ensure the effectiveness and integrity in the use of public resources, and focuses on how SAIs can contribute to the prevention and detection of corruption, including through agile compliance audits ( real- time audits) in emergency settings. The chapter illustrates some of the challenges SAIs face and explores the IMF’s approach to audits. Sub- Saharan African country cases showcase how the role of SAIs in addressing corruption has been strengthened, and a discussion of agile compliance audits in sub- Saharan Africa highlights the role of SAIs in emergency settings. following the close cooperation between CSOs and the Ghana Service and the role of the judiciary, has resulted in the auditor- assuming sanctioning powers (“disallowances and surcharges”) to com-bat misallocation of public funds. real-time audits to serve as an early- warning system (Auditor-General of Zambia 2020). The report gives a detailed analysis of challenges, including irregularities in the administration of donations, the transfer of public funds, and cash with-drawals; overpayment of staff and abuse of allowances; various procurement issues, including acceptance of quotations after deadlines, delays in delivery, failure to pay suppliers or questionable payments to suppliers, questionable fuel calculations, and absence of receipts and proper documentation; and so on. All

Sebastiaan Pompe

Papers

The Indonesian Supreme Court: A Study of Institutional Collapse

The Role of Supreme Audit Institutions in Addressing Corruption, Including in Emergency Settings