Electoral reform and the fate of new democracies : lessons from the Indonesian case / Sarah Shair-Rosenfield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah, author.

Contributor:

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Series:

Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Democratization--Indonesia.

Democratization.

Elections--Indonesia.

Elections.

Democracy--Indonesia.

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (245 pages).

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor, Michigan : University of Michigan Press, 2019.

Summary:

"When and why do democratic political actors change the electoral rules that determine access to office-holding and power, particularly who is included in a country's political representation? The incidence of such changes, known as major electoral reforms, has been on the rise since 1980. This has concerned scholars who typically assume strategic choices, rather than ideological or normative preferences for democracy, drive elite decision-making regarding electoral reform. Thus, reforms would likely limit democratic consolidation by allowing elite actors to reshape the electoral system to their advantage. Electoral Reform and the Fate of New Democracies argues that elite inexperience may constrain the pursuit of self-interest and lead elites to undertake gradual or incremental approaches to the process of reform, aiding the process of democratic consolidation. Using a multi-methods approach, the book examines three consecutive periods of reform in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country and third largest democracy, between 1999 and 2014. Each case study chapter provides an in-depth process tracing of the negotiations leading to the adoption of new reforms, including key actors in the legislature, domestic civil society, international experts, and government bureaucrats. A series of counterfactual analyses assess the impact the reforms had on actual election outcomes versus the possible alternative outcomes of different reform options discussed during negotiations. With a comparative analysis of nine cases of iterated reform processes in other new democracies, the book confirms the lessons from the Indonesian case and highlights key lessons for both scholars and electoral engineers."

Contents:

Part I: Setting Up the Puzzle

Chapter 1. Why Reform in New Democracies?

Chapter 2. Constrained Strategies: The Effects of Inexperience and Time

Part II: Lessons from the Indonesian Experience

Chapter 3. Indonesian Democratization and the Party System

Chapter 4. Early Stage Reforms in a Period of High Inexperience, 1999-2004

Chapter 5. Reforms under Declining Inexperience and Modest Temporal Constraints, 2004-2009

Chapter 6. Reforms under Severe Temporal Constraints, 2009 and Beyond

Part III: Exploring Iterated Reforms in Comparative Context

Chapter 7. Changing Rules and Incentives in New Democracies

Chapter 8. Extensions and Implications: Lessons for Scholars, Reformers, and Advisers

Appendixes: Appendix A. Referenced Interviews

Appendix B. Reform Codes by Case and Observation

Appendix C. Additional Iterated Electoral Reform Cases

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 196-212).

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472125852

0472125850