Decline of Democracy
Democracy may experience a global decline. However, Indonesia’s democracy must remain a shining example in a world where the democratic situation is not encouraging momentarily.
The fate of democracy has frequently become the subject of discussion and the source of concern for many parties of late. Throughout the world, democracy is deemed to be experiencing a setback (decline).
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), democracy is currently at its lowest point since 2006 (The State of Global Democracy, 2022). Many countries that were in the process of transitioning or consolidating democracy, are now experiencing democratic stagnation or even regression instead of becoming full democracies.
In other words, democracy is experiencing a crisis.
The restlessness of political scientists on this issue is reflected in, among others, the titles of books that impress gloom over the condition of democracy, such as: How Democracy Ends (Runciman, 2018); How Democracies Die (Levitsky & Ziblatt, 2018); Backsliding: Democratic Regressin the Contemporary World (Haggard and Kaufman, 2021); and Democratic Deconsolidation inSoutheast Asia (Mietzner, 2021). Studies also show that democracy is also declining in established democratic countries, such as the United States.
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This restlessness also appears to be real among democracy supporters and fighters, especially in civil society. Various criticisms point to the strengthening trend in authoritarianism, narrowing civic space, declining state tolerance towards critical attitudes and criticism, as well as the encouragement to claim and maintain power by utilizing the law in a discriminatory way (rule by law) and not based on law (rule of law).
Various reviews on the current state of democracy also show that the above problems are engulfing many democratic countries.
Indonesia, which frequently views itself to be the third largest democracy in the world, is also faced with the problem of a decline in democracy. Indonesian civil society, for example, has strongly criticized a number of developments that are deemed to weaken democracy, such as the discourse over extending the presidential term, the high number of corruption cases involving politicians and government officials, the passage of a number of laws that are deemed to limit civil rights or do not support public interests, as well as various serious issues that have ensnared law enforcement agencies and officials.
At present, the dynamics that are emerging in relation to determining the political parties that may participate in the 2024 general election can present a serious problem for the future of Indonesian democracy.
A number of accusations have been made against the General Elections Commission (KPU), which is considered to have been dishonest in verifying political parties. A free, fair and honest election is the most important pillar of democracy. Therefore, the integrity of election organizers is vital to maintaining public trust in democracy. If the election organizers are deemed no longer trustworthy in carrying out its duties, it will diminish public confidence in democracy itself. If this happens, the future of democracy in Indonesia will be even darker.
Indonesian democracy is certainly not perfect. However, Indonesia is seen as quite a successful example of a country that has been transitioning to the consolidation of democracy over a relatively short time. Indonesia is also seen as a country that has proven wrong the hypothesis that democracy cannot develop in a majority Muslim society. Indonesia is seen as a country that has proven that Islam and democracy are assets, not liabilities.
However, we rarely hear such positives. Discourse about Indonesia's recent democratization has begun to be colored by narratives regarding stagnation, regression, autocratization, re-authoritarianization, and a number of other aspects of democratic decline.
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So, the various achievements in democratization that have been made so far must be maintained and the consolidation of democracy must remain the main agenda for developing Indonesia's politics. For this reason, there is still much work that must be done.
All parties, for example, must stop making various proposals and discourse that can damage the foundation of democracy. All parties need to realize and believe that democracy is a system that is suited for pluralistic Indonesia. Political parties need to find solutions to prevent money politics in the elections. The government needs to realize that vibrant civil society and an independent press are important prerequisites for the continuance of democracy.
Democracy may experience a global decline. However, Indonesia’s democracy must remain a shining example in a world where the democratic situation is not encouraging momentarily.
Rizal Sukma, Senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.