Keeping an Eye on the Democracy Index

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Muslim, Catholic and other Christian residents of Thekelan hamlet, Batur village, Getasan district, Semarang regency, Central Java, line up to greet their Buddhist neighbors during Waisak on 19 May 2019. The community joined hands in a gesture of mutual forgiveness during the event, which coincided with the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The 2018 Indonesian Democracy Index (IDI) improved slightly, but a threat against freedom of opinion, as well as of assembly and association, is emerging in society.

The IDI, which was issued by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), notes a reduced threat or use of violence by the public because of gender, ethnicity and group backgrounds.

The IDI has from time to time recorded improvements. In 2012, the total index score was 62.63 and in 2018 it was 72.39. The IDI is measured based on the aspects of civil freedom, political rights and democratic institutions with 11 variables.

Of the three aspects, the only score that rose remarkably was the aspect of democratic institutions, which rose by 2.76 points to 75.25 points. This improvement was caused, among other things, by regeneration carried out by political parties in a series of simultaneous elections in 2019. Meanwhile, the indicator of civil freedom fell 0.29 points to 78.46 and the score for political rights fell 0.84 points to 65.79.

The 2018 IDI is not the best since 2012. In 2014, its total index score was 73.04. In 2014, Indonesia held a peaceful presidential election. The year 2018 was marked by a simultaneous election process, electing the president and vice president, members of the House of Representatives from the central to the regional level and members of the Regional Representatives Council.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Participants of the Rajut Kejut march carry a knitted banner that reads "Knitting Diversity" during the 21 April 2019 Car Free Day on Jl. Sudirman, Jakarta. The march urged all citizens to reunite following the divisive 2019 elections.

What needs to be observed is the deterioration of the indicator of threats or the use of violence by members of the public that hinder the freedom of other people to express opinions and gather and organize. During the 2019 elections, society experienced polarization, which was reflected in various statements on social media.

Previously, the 2018 Vulnerable Country Index showed that Indonesia\'s resilience improved except for in the aspects of elite fragmentation, social discontent and pressure on the population. Indonesia is not the only country that experiences social polarization and deterioration of the quality of democracy. The IDI and the Vulnerable Country Index indicate the same situation, the need for people to reunite and overcome social discontent.

Learning from many people in a number of places, the former governor of the Central Bank of India and director of research for the International Monetary Fund, Raghuram Rajan, in The Third Pillar (2019), argues that society is experiencing polarization because of the imbalance of the three pillars that form it, namely the government, the market and the community.

KOMPAS/ SYAHNAN RANGKUTI

Ahmad Yani (in Spider-Man costume), a resident of Tangkerang Timur subdistrict in Bukit Raya district, Pekanbaru, Riau, stands with Rizky, dressed as mythological hero Gatotkaca, to encourage voters to cast their ballots in the 2019 elections at polling station (TPS) 01, RT 02/RW 01 in Pematang Kapau, Tangkerang Timur. Many polling stations across the country adopted unique themes to attract voters to participate in the 2019 presidential and legislative elections.

The essence of balancing the three pillars is to build inclusive localism by empowering the communities that are left behind by the other two pillars in the process of making decisions and fairly accessing economic opportunities. This needs to be done to answer social dissatisfaction. At the national level, the framework also needs to be inclusive, so that each community is part of the nation and does not make distinctions based on class, tribe and ethnicity.