Introduction: The Problem Is Representation! Towards an Analytical Framework

Abstract

T he point of departure in this book is that the current stagnation of democracy in the postcolonial world is due to the depoliticisation of important public issues and interests. Major public concerns have become matters of technocratic governance or privatised to the market as well as communal, patronage, and privileged citizens' networks. The introductory chapter argues that the root-cause is flawed representation: flawed representation emanating from both elitist institution building and fragmented citizen participation. Hence, a case is made for the need to rethink popular representation and develop methods that are more democratic. An analytical framework is outlined to that end. This framework draws on the insights from the subsequent chapters, in the context of the wider discourse. These chapters in turn focus on critical theoretical issues and empirical experiences in comparative perspective. 1 Depoliticisation and the Primacy of Representation The state of democracy in the Global South is marked by a striking paradox: although liberal democracy has attained an ideologically hegemonic position through several so-called waves of democracy, 2 the qualities of such democracies are increasingly called into question. The few 'old' democracies in the Global South, like India and Sri Lanka, are weakened. 3 They emerged in the struggle for state sovereignty and citizenship against colonialism and feudal-like subordination of people. The basic

Civic Engagement and Democracy in Post-Suharto Indonesia: A Review of Musrenbang, the Kecamatan Development Programme, and Labour Organising

“…As mentioned, research on the aspects of civil society that encompasses the democracy movement has instead showed that civic activists and pressure groups that brought democracy to Indonesia are "floating in the margins of the fledging democratic system being unable to make a real impact" (Nababan et al, 2005;Harriss et al, 2004, pp.17-18). In contrast to what one should expect, while representatives from civil society are able to check antireformist elites through protests and political mobilisation, they seem to be rather weak in actually instigating political reform, entering into formal politics by winning elections, or curbing anti-reformist elements (Samadhi & Warouw, 2008;Törnquist, 2009;Mietzner, 2012). Hence, democratisation in Indonesia has come a long way in terms of political freedoms and the role of civil society, but research has showed that the democratisation process has stagnated when it comes to improving representation.…”

Introduction Research-based Democracy Promotion: Lessons from Indonesia

“…As emphasised in Törnquist (2009), there is a need to combine the two main tendencies in the study of representation -one emphasising the formal chain of popular sovereignty and the other, more or less, direct participation and deliberation -by focusing on the development (or restriction) of the principles of democratic representation in both formally organised politics and government, on the one hand, and other forms of governance, including in civil society, on the other (see Figure 1). …”

“…This was also one of the prime results from the alternative surveys in Indonesia. The main focus needs be on different types of representation and how they are legitimised and mediated through traditional leaders, parties, interest organisations, corporatist arrangements, and institutions for direct participation (Törnquist, 2009). A fruitful follow-up question, inspired by Harriss (2006) and Houtzager et al (2005), is to ask people and their organisations which institutions they turn to with their various problems.…”

“…An attempt has been made to develop a framework for the study of the major dimensions of democratic representation (Törnquist, 2009). The fundamental of democratic representation is the construction of public affairs and the people, the demos, who will control them on the basis of political equality.…”

“…With this as a base, one may then focus on the efforts, if any, to scale up fragmented and poorly rooted groups: (1) geographically from local to regional and central; (2) policy-wise from separate to more public issues, interests, and agendas; (3) organisationally from separate groups and associations to alliances, coalitions, and unified movements and organisations (Törnquist et al, 2009).…”