Parties and party politics in the post-Reformasi era

This chapter outlines key features of contemporary Indonesian party politics, highlighting two somewhat contradictory trends. On the one hand, the party system has become increasingly institutionalized in recent years, despite continuously high levels of fragmentation. Led by a group of core parties with reasonably loyal constituencies, political parties have given structure to electoral competition and provided organizational pathways to power and patronage. On the other hand, however, the parties’ relatively feeble track record in fulfilling their public mandate and their proneness to collusion and corruption have entrenched low public trust rates in party politics. At the same time, electoral rules that favor individual candidates over parties have weakened the role of parties during elections. Thus, enhanced stability in the party system has not led to greater accountability while political agendas are increasingly shaped by non-party actors, including mass organizations and populists keen to challenge the foundations of Indonesia’s democratic regime.