An Indonesian Democracy: Limits of a Majoritarian Democracy

Abstract : Indonesia has continuously been praised as a successful post-authoritarian country transitioning to democracy. However, seeing the numerous human right violations in the past decade alone especially towards alternative political, religious, and sexual identities, the success of democracy in Indonesia has been put under the spotlight. This raises the question of the development of democracy and the use of democracy in Indonesia in practicing and upholding principles of social equality for all. In this article I wish to provide an overview of majoritarian democracy, a form of democracy that is understood and practiced in Indonesia. A form of democracy that rather than upholding values that safeguard individual right and diversity, may in fact undemine religious and cultural diversity, enforcing a homogenized national culture and values, which in return may engender human right violations in the name of national security that it in itself is defined by the majority.

Keywords : indonesian democracy, majoritarian democracy, musyawarah mufakat

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