INDONESIAN DEMOCRACY PROMOTION: Between Normative and Strategic Commitments

I Ketut Putra Erawan

Abstract


Indonesia’s reasons to launch democracy promotion through the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in 2008, and its continued efforts in the future, are guided by three commitments: strategic commitments, normative commitments, and mixed commitments. Viewing democracy promotion as a foreign policy enables us to advance the understanding of the motives, reasons, and rationality of a country like Indonesia in supporting democracy. The existing debates on models, mechanisms, and effects of democracy promotion tend to ignore the salience of reasoning behind the initiatives of democracy promotion. Understanding the reasonings and motives of democracy promotion would help us to better understand why certain models and mechanisms are selected.

Keywords


democracy promotion; strategic commitment; normative commitment; mixed commitment; Bali Democracy; Forum; foreign policy.

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References


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Ibid.

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This hypothesis is based on McAdam and Rucht’s argument that “attribution of similarity” is a precondition for diffusion. McAdam, Dough and Dieter Rucht. “The Cross-National Diffusion of Movement Ideas.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 528 (1993): 36-59.

Wirajuda, Hassan. “Seeds of Democracy in Egypt: Sharing Is Caring.” Strategic Review 1, no. 1 (2011): 147-158.

In implementing the programs and activities, IPD was supported by “Friends of IPD,” namely the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Norway, Denmark, EU, and others through a third party.

Brookings Institution uses the terms ‘quiet player’ for the Indonesian struggles to promote democracy in hard places. Piccone, Ted. “Five Rising Democracies and the Fate of International Liberal Order.” Brooking Institution Press (2016).

Stated by some Indonesian speakers and participants in the dialogue held in Jakarta. Compare to Wirajuda, Hassan. “Seeds of Democracy in Egypt: Sharing Is Caring.” Strategic Review 1, no. 1 (2011): 147-158.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/cosmogov.v10i2.59287

DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.24198/cosmogov.v10i2.59287.g24323

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