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Article: Indonesia seven years after Soeharto: party system institutionalization in a new democracy.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Southeast Asia
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It is often said, following Samuel Huntington, that it is not the first elections after the fall of an authoritarian regime that matter; instead, the path to democracy is seen to be assured only after second elections have been completed. (1) Indonesia's second post-Soeharto elections, both parliamentary and presidential, were held from April to September 2004. Furthermore, 2005-2006 is witnessing the country's first-ever direct elections for regional heads, governors, mayors, and regents. Can the country be seen finally to be firmly on the path to democracy? Is democracy now "the only game in town"?
This article examines what the performance of Indonesia's ...