Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, has the largest Muslim populations. The country’s democratic achievements since Soeharto’s fall in 1998, including the 2014 presidential elections, have been of great interest to students of Asian studies and political sciences. In July 2014, the Indonesian people elected Joko Widodo, who had risen fast from a mayorship of Solo to the national political stage without any linkage to the country’s authoritarian past, as President. Indonesia has also adopted and implemented sweeping measures of political decentralization, including direct local elections through which new breeds of political hopefuls rise to elected office and power. To appreciate Indonesia’s current state of democracy and politics requires both historical and analytical review of the country’s political and social developments since independence. The course aims to enable students to develop a comprehensive and historically-grounded understanding of the state, society and politics of contemporary Indonesia.

Continuous Assessment: 100%