NGOs and Academia and Democratization in Indonesia: How Has the Relationship Fared so Far?
34 Pages Posted: 30 Jul 2014
Date Written: July 29, 2014
Abstract
Non state actors have played important role in facilitating and fostering democratization process in Indonesia. They have served as partners with the government in charting development, provide key basic services jointly and independently with the state, contributed to increasing public awareness of legal, political and economic rights, and in strengthening community development capacity. However, with the diminishing role of the state that in part is attributable to adoption of economic austerity policies, non-state actors have also, either knowingly or unwittingly or both, become conduits and agents of foreign influence in the archipelago economy and politics, at the central and sub national level. Problems that still loom large range from heavy reliance of foreign funding, lack of domestically grounded mechanisms, best practices, and benchmarks they use in conducting of activities, fragmentation, shortage of organizational leadership and management skills. It is a challenge and opportunity which civil society had to take if it is to remain relevant as an important element in the Indonesia democracy equation now and in future.
Keywords: Non-state actor, Academia, Indonesia, elite-capture, democratization, neo-liberalism
JEL Classification: I23, L30, L23
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation