Asrinaldi and Mohammad Agus Yusoff – Power consolidation and its impact on the decline of democracy in Indonesia under President Jokowi

Abstract

This article explains the decline of democracy currently happening in Indonesia that is related to the failure of democratic consolidation. After the democratic transition has been going on for two decades, the Indonesian nation has been held hostage by the political interests of those in power who have been able to infiltrate every arena of democratic consolidation. Among five aspects of democratic consolidation, the most dominant aspect causing the decline of democracy during the Jokowi regime is the aspect of civil and political society as the Jokowi regime acted to intimidate and arrest anyone dangerous to criticise the government. To counter opposition from civil society groups, Jokowi used social media and pro-government civil society figures to praise the successes and achievements of his government. The law was repressively implemented for the sake of maintaining political stability so that the development agenda could be implemented following his will. The national bureaucracy also failed to act professionally since it was tightly controlled by the Jokowi regime, thus contributing to the decline of democracy. This article presents the existence of systematic government interference through the creation of legal rules, which has an impact on the arena of democratic consolidation in Indonesia.