The 27th Indonesia Update Conference 2009

2009 is an important moment in Indonesian democracy. There were nation-wide parliamentary polls in April and direct presidential elections in July, with a second round likely in September. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of Indonesia’s first post-Soeharto democratic elections. Over the last decade, analysts have made wildly differing evaluations about the meaning, quality and depth of Indonesia’s new democracy. But there have been surprisingly few close studies of how the core democratic institutions actually work.

This year’s Indonesia Update will focus on the mechanics of Indonesia’s democracy. We will examine key institutions such as the national and local legislatures, political parties and elections. How do political party campaigns get organised and funded? How well-run are Indonesian elections? What does it take to get legislation passed through national and local parliaments? What kind of people call the shots in Indonesia’s political parties and why? Contributors will answer these and similar questions about how Indonesia’s democratic institutions work. Some contributors will provide close institutional and local case studies, others will compare the functioning of Indonesia’s democratic institutions with broad global trends.

The 2009 Indonesia Update will be held Friday and Saturday, 9- 10 October  in the Coombs Lecture Theatre.

For more information: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/economics/ip/IU09/