Civil-society Support — A Decisive Factor in the Indonesian Presidential Elections in 2014Ririn Sefsani und and Patrick Ziegenhain

ASIEN – Nr. 136 (2015) pp. 14–33

This paper argues that the enormous support of civil-society organizations was a major reason for Joko Widodo’s victory in the Indonesian presidential elections in 2014. Social-science theories generally assign civil-society organizations a leading role in strengthening a democratic political order and improving the quality of democracy in it. The authors’ assessment of Joko Widodo’s election campaign reveals that the involvement of volunteer groups (relawan) with pro-democratic goals was an important component. The remarkable commitment of these civil-society organizations, which provided support in a variety of ways, can be interpreted as a positive sign that democracy is deepening in Indonesia.

Manuscript received on 2014-12-11, accepted on 2015-05-07
Keywords: Indonesia, democracy, presidential elections, Joko Widodo, civil society