GENERALS and VOTERS; The Politics of Senior Generals in Indonesian Elections 2009

Book Review: GENERALS and VOTERS; The Politics of Senior Generals in Indonesian Elections 2009

This book is about the politics of retiredmilitary generals in Indonesia’s presidential election in 2009. It examines the reasons why senior generals, such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Wiranto, and Prabowo, were still dominant in the country’s political arena even after 10 years of democratization. My study elucidates how they engaged in the 2009 elections and how the election result impacted on Indonesia’s prospect for democratic consolidation, especially in terms of civil-military relations.

Our discussions illustrated that the post-authoritarian military has adapted to the developing democratic regime and maintained its political influence via retired officers. It is commonly understood that these politically active retired officers are pursuing their own political interests, which are not overtly related to the military’s institutional interests. However, my study, which examines the 2009 elections, argues that it is not the case. Retired officers mobilize many old friends in the military in conducting electoral campaigns, and they are later rewarded by getting positions in the parliament, government, and business. It is they who effectively represent the military’s institutional interests.The issue of the military’s past human rights violation is particularly the battlefield of civil-military contestation and the growing presence of retired officers in the parliament and the government should be regarded as a potential danger for the country’s democratic prospect. In the shadow of Yudhoyono’s re-election which is widely viewed in the international community as a success story of peaceful democracy, my thesis underlines various “silent developments” which may undermine the substance of democracy in the future.