Is Indonesia’s democracy still worth the name?
Behind the facade of regular elections and court battles, the country has quietly traded democratic governance for a militarized cartel, begging the real question: Who can still say no to the President?
Is Indonesia's democracy still a proper name?
In recent years, Indonesia has witnessed a marked decline in its democratic standing. The Democracy Report 2026 by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project rates the nation as an electoral autocracy, marking a 21.5-point drop in its Liberal Democracy Index. The Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) further warns of the country's drift towards competitive authoritarianism.
Despite the facade of democratic institutions, the reality is a militarized political landscape. The ruling coalition, led by Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, holds an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives, with seven out of eight legislative parties in its fold. The remaining Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) operates outside the formal system.
The V-Dem analysis contrasts two prevailing scholarly perspectives on Indonesia's political system. Harry J. Benda described it as a bureaucratic polity, dominated by the military and civil apparatus. Herbert Feith viewed the society as fragmented among distinct sociopolitical streams, with elites engaging in transactional bargaining instead of establishing institutional governance.
Today, Indonesia exhibits elements of both these models. Prabowo's administration consolidates power within the state apparatus, while also engaging in clientelist networks. The country continues to hold elections, process court petitions, organize student protests, and witness public debates among elites.
However, the institutional verdicts suggest a deeper erosion of democratic governance. The Democracy Report and the BTI paint a grim picture of Indonesia sliding into authoritarianism, even as it maintains the outward appearance of a functioning democracy. The question remains: Is Indonesia a democracy struggling under strain, or an autocracy that merely goes through the motions of holding elections?
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
