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ItemVulnerable but Resilient: Indonesia in an Age of Democratic Decline(Routledge, 2022-11-25)Recent years have seen a consensus emerging that Indonesian democracy is in regression. Nonetheless, there continue to be developments that point towards Indonesia’s democratic resilience. This article examines key events of the past year that support resilience, including the passing of the landmark Law on Sexual Violence, the rejection of rumoured plans to extend President Joko Widodo’s term in office and a moderation of polarisation. At the same time, Indonesian democracy remains vulnerable, illustrated by legal developments that undermine executive accountability, ongoing militarisation in Papua, as well as persistent pressure in areas of freedom of expression and minority rights. The article will conclude with an examination of Jokowi’s efforts to secure his presidential legacy, particularly through infrastructure development and foreign policy. The article identifies two sources for democratic resilience—public opinion and elite support—and argues that while democratic decline continues, the process of regression is more uneven than commonly emphasised in assessments of Indonesian politics.
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ItemImplementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Insights from Indonesia(JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV PRESS, 2022-02-01)Following the endorsement of the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011, attention has shifted towards challenges of implementation. Through detailed analysis of the case of Indo-nesia, this article analyses the conditions under which implementation oc-curs and explores strategies for strengthened implementation. While UNGP implementation has often been argued to depend on strong collaborative learning networks, we demonstrate instead that power balances between rights coalitions and politico-business and technocratic elites have proved decisive—implementation varying across sectors and over time depending on configurations of market power, histories of rights struggles, and patterns of high-level political support.
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ItemStruggling for justice in post-authoritarian states: human rights protest in Indonesia(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2022-03-16)Protests can play a crucial role in contributing to social change. In many countries that have transitioned from authoritarian to more democratic forms of governance, protests have demanded accountability for human rights crimes. This article focuses on Indonesia’s longest-running human rights protest, Kamisan. This protest is contrasted with one of the most recognisable human rights protests internationally–the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina–on which Kamisan was based. The article asks why these similar protest movements have had vastly different impacts–whereas the protest of the Mothers has generated human rights reform, this remains elusive in Indonesia. The article uses an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on theories of human rights change and social movements, and combines this with a focus on the specific historical, social and political contexts in which both protests have developed. Drawing on the Argentinean experience, the article argues that human rights protests are influenced by possibilities for activism in repressive regimes, the nature of democratic transition and political culture. These factors illustrate that ultimately the success of human rights protest is contingent on the balance of social and political forces in a given context.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableGlobal Concepts, Local Meanings: How Civil Society Interprets and Uses Human Rights in Asia(Informa UK Limited, 2021-03-01)Over the past few decades, the human rights movement has made impressive inroads in Asia: human rights have become enshrined in national constitutions as well as increasingly visible in popular discourse and as a legitimising resource for civil society groups. With the recent rise of populist leaders and increased nationalistic discourses, however, a backlash against rights-based activism and counterclaims made by illiberal groups have brought into question the present and future of human rights as a tool for emancipation. In this article we argue that despite these current challenges, and drawing on case studies from the Philippines, China, Korea and Malaysia, human rights continue to inform and strengthen civil society. At the same time, it is also possible that civil society and state actors may use human rights towards sometimes contradictory ends. The contestation and articulation of rights across the region, however messy, demonstrates that human rights remain a valuable resource for civil society actors to promote political and social change even in the face of immense challenges.
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ItemPandemics, politics and principles: business and human rights in Southeast Asia in a time of crisis.(Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, 2020)Business activity has been a key driver of economic dynamism in Southeast Asia and one of the main reasons for the region’s growing prosperity in recent decades. It has led to increases in investment and consumption, boosted exports and, in so doing, promoted economic growth. This has in turn created jobs, improved incomes, increased governments’ ability to provide social welfare, and lifted millions out of poverty.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePalm oil, migrant workers, indigenous peoples and corporations: Responses of Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission(Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, 2020)Malaysia is the world’s second largest exporter of palm oil, a key component of many packaged foods and cosmetics. Malaysia’s economy is highly dependent on the palm oil industry, which is the country’s top agricultural export. In 2018, the broader agriculture sector contributed over 7% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with nearly 40% of that coming from the palm oil industry.