The quality of Indonesia’s democracy continues to decline. This downward trend is reflected in the consistent drop of the Democracy Index score reported by the London-based research and analysis firm, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In 2021, Indonesia ranked 52nd, falling to 54th in 2022, 56th in 2023, and 59th in 2024. Indonesia’s Democracy Index score now stands at only 6.44 out of a maximum of 10.
UGM sociologist Dr. Fina Itriyati noted that Indonesia was once praised as the most successful political model in Southeast Asia following the reform era.
However, in the second year of President Prabowo’s administration, the nation is now marked by what she described as a wave of popular discontent.
“Indonesia is currently experiencing an era of popular discontent,” said Dr. Itriyati during a public lecture titled The Future of Democracy in Popular Discontent on Wednesday (Sep. 24) at the Auditorium of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (Fisipol UGM).
Addressing the issue of democratic decline, Professor Vedi Hadiz of the University of Melbourne explained that democracy cannot function properly amid deep social inequality, as is currently the case in Indonesia.
“Given the current situation, what can we realistically expect from democracy? It will not operate as we hope,” he said.
According to him, public expectations of democracy reflect underlying interests. The discontent felt by Indonesians (what Professor Hadiz referred to as popular discontent) has direct correlations with global economic developments, particularly global neoliberalization.
While neoliberalization has interconnected the world, it has also worsened economic inequality.
Professor Hadiz illustrated this point with examples from countries like China and the United States, where vast material wealth coexists with significant social inequality.
In Indonesia, he noted, inequality is also rising, but the tools commonly used to measure it, such as the Gini Ratio, remain inadequate.
“The instruments we use to capture this issue are insufficient. The Gini Ratio shows that inequality in Indonesia continues to widen,” he explained.
He further connected popular discontent to social mobility issues seen worldwide, which often fuel anti-immigration movements. The arrival of immigrants, perceived as a threat to locals’ social standing, especially among men, has triggered public protests.
“People feel that immigrants reduce their chances of improving social mobility,” he added.
The accumulation of such discontent, he argued, lies in the difficulty of achieving upward mobility. He cited workers whose wages do not match their efforts as an example.
“In Javanese, this is often described as nerimo (just accepting one’s lot),” Professor Hadiz remarked.
He attributed this to policies designed to protect the interests of the wealthiest 0.1 percent.
Professor Hadiz concluded by linking recent large-scale protests in Indonesia to the government’s failure in policymaking. Instead of representing the broader public, policies often serve the interests of wealthy elites and capital holders.
“We must understand that democracy is an arena of contestation, and not every interest holds the same position within that arena,” he emphasized.
Author: Salwa
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Rajendra Arya
Illustration: Medcom