Democracy

This chapter follows Generation 98’s journey through the 2004 national and presidential elections, as activists sought to keep the goals of Reform alive by renewing their ties to each other and to “the People.” As Indonesia’s electoral democracy began to be dominated by established political parties, activists outside formal politics mobilized civil society elements to prove that popular power was still on their side. The chapter reflects on the corrosive effects of political brokerage, discord, and social distance on Generation 98, effects that convey the uneven integration of democratic actors and agendas into post-Suharto Indonesia.