General Overview
Indonesia first started as a Dutch colony in the 17th century until Japan gained control of the islands from 1942 to 1945. Shortly after World War II, Indonesia declared its independence after years disputing with the Netherlands.
Indonesia’s first leader, Sukarno, initially advocated for personal freedoms after the country gained sovereignty but, as time passed, he began to use his power to take away rights and make himself president for life. Sukarno was eventually ousted in a military coup led by Suharto, a general who becomes the country’s next leader. Suharto was responsible for the deaths of up to 1 million Communists and suspected Communists in his efforts to rid Indonesia of socialist influence. He resigned in 1998 after large riots attempted to oust him. Later, presidents garnered popular influence but did very little to address the mistakes made by past leaders to solve human rights violations.
Joko Widodo
Anti-establishment Populism
Indonesia’s current president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodok, openly identified himself as a “technocratic populist” during his campaign, believing in bureaucratic reform to limit the power of the elites. He promised to advocate for better economic policies to help alleviate the financial woes of his continuance and take action to stop human rights violations in the country. Jokowi’s decision-making and campaign messages show connections between anti-establishment populism in which hard-working citizens make up the majority of the country and must be protected by a leader willing to defend their interests. This characteristic is broad but helps explain why Jokowi promised reform to a general audience who are members of the religious and ethnic majority in Indonesia. He was disapproving of past government officials, trying to create a new bureaucratic regime in favor of his stance on politics.
While Jokowi has not actively targeted any group of people, he has remained neutral on addressing current rights abuses on religious minorities, child marriage, native Papuans, and Indonesia’s LGBTQIA+ community. His silence on matters that affect multiple groups of minorities and individuals break his initial campaign promises to advocate for better conditions for minorities who make up his targeted working class.
