Neo-liberal Reforms and Illiberal Consolidations: The Indonesian Paradox

Market-oriented policy agendas have enjoyed a remarkable influence in Indonesia for almost four decades. Yet, attempts to impose these agendas in any systematic fashion have proven uncertain and inconclusive. This is not simply a case of successful resistance to reform by entrenched interests. Rather, the deepening of market capitalism and global integration has, in many instances, appeared to consolidate authoritarian politics and predatory economic relationships. Even in the wake of economic crisis and dramatic political change, these basic frameworks of power remain largely intact. Such paradoxes raise important questions about the relationships between markets, institutions and political and social power. We examine how market reforms have been resisted and even hijacked to consolidate predatory state and private oligarchies. We look at the way such entrenched interests have been reorganised in the face of fundamental institutional changes, including the collapse of authoritarian rule and the decentralisation of political authority.