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Democracy and Military Oversight in Crisis: The Failed Civilianisation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence

Democracy and Military Oversight in Crisis: The Failed Civilianisation of Indonesia’s Ministry of... In 1998, Indonesia endeavoured to civilianise its defence department after decades of military-dominated rule. This civilianisation project was widely seen as a crucial element of democratisation itself. But the initiative ended in disillusionment: by 2014, the ministry was again placed under a conservative former general, and in 2019, it came under the control of Prabowo Subianto, an ambitious ex-military leader with strong ties to the pre-1998 autocratic regime. As a result, the reform drive in the ministry came to a halt, and civilians were marginalised again. This article argues that several factors account for this reform failure: first, the ministry’s long subordination to the military prior to 1998; second, the lack of will and power on the part of civilian ministers between 1999 and 2014 to pursue meaningful reforms; and third, a larger roll-back of democratic reforms beginning in the 2010s. Embedding these latest developments in a larger historical context, the article demonstrates that the defence ministry has been a barometer of Indonesia’s fluctuating democratic quality over time. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs SAGE

Democracy and Military Oversight in Crisis: The Failed Civilianisation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence

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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s)
ISSN
2347-7970
eISSN
2349-0039
DOI
10.1177/23477970231152014
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In 1998, Indonesia endeavoured to civilianise its defence department after decades of military-dominated rule. This civilianisation project was widely seen as a crucial element of democratisation itself. But the initiative ended in disillusionment: by 2014, the ministry was again placed under a conservative former general, and in 2019, it came under the control of Prabowo Subianto, an ambitious ex-military leader with strong ties to the pre-1998 autocratic regime. As a result, the reform drive in the ministry came to a halt, and civilians were marginalised again. This article argues that several factors account for this reform failure: first, the ministry’s long subordination to the military prior to 1998; second, the lack of will and power on the part of civilian ministers between 1999 and 2014 to pursue meaningful reforms; and third, a larger roll-back of democratic reforms beginning in the 2010s. Embedding these latest developments in a larger historical context, the article demonstrates that the defence ministry has been a barometer of Indonesia’s fluctuating democratic quality over time.

Journal

Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs – SAGE

Published: Apr 1, 2023

Keywords: Indonesia; ministry of defence; democratisation; civil–military relations; armed forces

References

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