The Failure of Islamic Populism: The Case of Indonesia’s 2019 Election

Sumber foto: RMOL.id https://hukum.rmol.id/read/2017/04/03/286319/1/Skenario-Terburuk-Al-Khaththath-Cs-Duduki-Gedung-DPR,-Terobos-Pintu-Belakang?page=2  

Artikel bisa didonlod di https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/aicosh-19/125916033 Authors

Abubakar Eby Hara, Agus Trihartono

This paper attempts to discuss the failure of Islamic populism in Indonesia. In the 2019 general election, populist jargons departing from Islamic teachings was used in the campaign to win the election. Islamic populist jargons are generally interpreted as an effort to voice the pure voice of the people, called the ummah, to fight a tyrannical regime which is sometimes also considered secular, corrupt and anti-Islamic. These jargons are mainly used by supporters of the opposition candidate Prabowo Subianto to defeat the incumbent President Joko Widodo. From the results of the General Election, the influence of Islamic populism, however, is very limited. In this paper, we argue that the failure of Islamic populism is due to three things, first, the support for the democratic process is still quite strong. Secondly, Islamic populism used by the Prabowo group is not part of mainstream Islam in Indonesia. Thirdly, in a long historical context, Islamic populism is always contestable in Indonesian politics so that its influence in politics is always debatable. To discuss this issue, this paper traces various campaign themes of the two Presidential candidates in various media and uses of statistical data from a national survey institution.

Populism in Indonesia and its Threats to Democracy

Picture source: https://www.fairobserver.com/politics/democracy-crisis-elections-populism-donald-trump-latest-world-news-34942/  Paper can be downloaded at https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icsps-17/25891343 Author: Abubakar Eby Hara Abstract
This paper discusses the emergence of populist movements in Indonesia and its influence on Indonesian democracy. As in some democratic countries, populism also becomes one of Indonesia's political traits. Although not exactly the same as the general models of populism in the West, Indonesian populist figures such as Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto have enough political appeal. Both use populist style in 2014 presidential election. Another less known populist movement is Islamic populism that has long historical roots and sticking to the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial election. In contrast to the extreme right and left populists in Europe and Latin America, the Indonesian populist tradition is new, not yet having a clear program and divided. In this context, populism has not threatened democracy even it can channel people direct interests. Nevertheless, in the long run the potential threat of populism to democracy cannot be underestimated primarily because of the authoritarianism tendency in populist figures to challenge democracy principles. Similarly, massive populist campaigns can strengthen the formation of group identity that disrupts the social relations in society.

Interview with Revista Mundorama - The struggle for upholding human rights through the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR): Some Barriers and Prospects

Ten years ago, ASEAN established the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), a Commission similar to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in America. If ASEAN is much appreciated as one of the most successful regional organizations after the European Union, it is not the case with the enforcement of human rights. AICHR still lags behind the IACHR in terms of, for example, protecting human rights. Both organizations have acknowledged universal human rights principles and norms, but the IACHR has American Court to address various human rights violations, while the AICHR does not have the same institution because its member countries are still worried about other members’ interference in their domestic matters. Discussing the issue of human rights violations in other member countries is still often considered a taboo, so human rights issues are not addressed properly. 

Cite this article as: Editoria Mundorama, "The struggle for upholding human rights through the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR): Some Barriers and Prospects, by Abubakar Eby Hara," in Revista Mundorama, 12/08/2019, https://mundorama.net/?p=25812.

Democracy and Continuing Marginalization of Women in Indonesian Politics

Authors: Abubakar Eby Hara, Agus Trihartono and Nino Viartasiwi.

Although much progress and efforts have been made to increase women’s participation in politics, the main idea of women’s involvement in politics has not yet penetrated into the mainstream of Indonesian politics. The main idea is not only a representation of the number of female population but also the representation that will bring new norms for Indonesian politics that has been so far dominated by the assumption of masculinity based on power politics and struggle to control resources by one party for the loss of others. This paper seeks to see how this marginalization of women continues to occur. One of the reasons for this cannot be separated from the waning of the reform spirit that inspired the reformation. Slowly but surely Indonesian politics is re-defined in term of power struggles by all means including by corruption, collusion, and nepotism that was once the object of criticism of reform groups. In this context, it is often the case that if women want to succeed in politics, they must follow such political norms and abandons the idealism of their struggle. In fact, such women politicians not only abandon the ideal of feminist struggle but reinforce the assumption that politics is the world of men. For full paper, please see https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/abs/2018/48/e3sconf_icenis18_11005/e3sconf_icenis18_11005.html

Sumber foto: https://humaniskmfibunhas.wordpress.com/2018/01/17/proses-marjinalisasi-perempuan-dan-feminisme-sebagai-titik-terang-bagi-ketidakadilan-gender/

The struggle to uphold a regional human rights regime: the winding role of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)

Please visit my latest article published in Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional ISSN 1983-3121 Vol. 62, No. 1, 2019. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0034-7329201900111 The struggle to uphold a regional human rights regime: the winding role of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Abstract
This paper examines the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights’ (AICHR) role in upholding human rights by using the perspective of the human rights regime theory. In this perspective, AICHR is still behind other regional human rights bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The AICHR has passed the declaratory regime, but has not been in the stages of implementation or enforcement regime. Efforts from human rights proponents are expected to elevate the role of the AICHR. Keywords: ASEAN; AICHR; IACHR; civil society organization; regime theory.