The Democratic Instinct in the 21st Century

Issue Date July 2010
Volume 21
Issue 3
Page Numbers 5-10
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Democratization is never easy, smooth, or linear, but as Indonesia’s experience in building a multiparty and multiethnic democracy shows, it can succeed even under difficult and initially unpromising conditions.

About the Author

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected in 2009 to his second term as president of the Republic of Indonesia. The text that follows is adapted from the keynote address that he delivered in Jakarta on 12 April 2010 at the sixth biennial Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy.

View all work by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Further Reading

Volume 32, Issue 4

Indonesia: Jokowi Sidelines Democracy

Indonesia’s president claims he is curbing democracy today to save it later. If he is wrong about his long-term wager, democratic institutions may not survive.

Volume 25, Issue 2

How Indonesia Won a Constitution

A review of Constitutional Change and Democracy in Indonesia by Donald L. Horowitz.

Volume 25, Issue 4

Indonesia’s 2014 Elections: How Jokowi Won and Democracy Survived

Indonesians came close to electing as their new president a populist challenger promising to restore the country’s predemocratic order. Democracy prevailed in the end, but its continued vulnerability was exposed.