Suchergebnisse

ON 21 MAY 1998, INDONESIA'S AUTHORITARIAN PRESIDENT SUHARTO, in power since 1966, abruptly resigned from office and was succeeded by his vice-president, Bacharuddin Jusuf (B. J.) Habibie. Though retired for decades, Suharto was an army general and relied heavily on the support of the armed forces to rule this vast archipelago, the world's fourth largest country. Habibie is a civilian with long government service as minister of research and industry. President Suharto, Habibie often claimed, taught him everything he knew about politics.

This case study tests the significance of leadership, party identification, religious orientation, political economy, and sociological and demographic factors in the legislative and presidential choices of voters in the new Indonesian democracy. Data were obtained from four national opinion surveys conducted by the authors following parliamentary elections in 1999 and 2004 and the two-round presidential election in 2004. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of our data confirm the significance of leadership and party ID and the nonsignificance for the most part of other variables tested, including religious orientation, long the most popular explanation for the Indonesian case.

Newly elected President Yudhoyono and Vice President Kalla scored successes despite initial lack of parliamentary support. Kalla took control of Golkar, the largest party, and a tentative peace was achieved in Aceh. Economic policy was entrusted to a strong team of technocrats. Military relations with the United States were fully restored.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired army officer, became Indonesia's first directly elected president, defeating incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri in a landslide. Key positions in economic ministries were awarded both to pro-market and protectionist groups. A suicide bomb killed nine people and wounded nearly 200, intensifying the nation's search for al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.