Democracy in Crisis: Civic Freedom in Contemporary Indonesia
Auradian Marta (a*), Leo Agustino (b), (c) Baskoro Wicaksono
a) Department of Government Studies, Universitas Riau, Indonesia, Email:auradian_unri[at]yahoo.com
b) Department of Public Administration, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Banten, Indonesia
c) Department of Government Studies, Universitas Riau, Indonesia
Abstract
Civic freedom is the principle of modern democracies. A report from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2018 explained that the civil liberties index in Indonesia had a very sharp decline. This has caused the quality of democracy in Indonesia to decline. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain why civic freedom in Indonesia is in crisis? This study uses a qualitative method with the theory-driven approach. The data is obtained from books, scientific journals, and mass media. Analysis of data in this study from data reduction, to data organization and data interpretation. Civic freedom in Indonesia are currently experiencing a crisis caused by (1) "silencing" of freedom of expression; (2) Restrictions and violations of the freedom of association and assembly; and (3) discriminatory actions and violence that occur in the implementation of freedom of religion or belief. The conclusion is that threats and violations of civic freedom have made democracy in Indonesia is in a crisis and increasingly away from the practice of consolidation democracy.
Keywords: democracy; crisis; civic freedom; Indonesia
Topic: Digital Governance and Citizenship