Authoritarian nostalgia and democratic decline in contemporary Indonesia

Abstract

This paper investigates the phenomenon of authoritarian nostalgia in Indonesian politics. Drawing on data from a Populi Center public opinion survey, we explore the characteristics, patterns and workings of authoritarian nostalgia. On the one hand, we find authoritarian nostalgia prevalent in the survey data and also anecdotally. Many in the public remember the New Order era fondly and have positive impressions of President Soeharto despite 32 years of military authoritarian rule. At the same time, we find that much of the nostalgia revolves around economic issues. Furthermore, our study shows that key age cohorts who lived during the New Order period have the most support for the authoritarian era. This paper also contributes to our understanding on how Indonesian people perceive and behave to their current Indonesian political development.