Dr Max Lane is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
He has been an academic at the University of Sydney, Victoria University (Melbourne), Murdoch University and the National University of Singapore and lectured at universities in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States.
A popular documentary about ten exiles has had an extraordinary run in Indonesia, not least because it sings a different tune from the official historical narrative about the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) and its supporters, perpetuated since the Suharto era.
This Long Read argues that a 20-year process of consolidation of a homogeneous political outlook among the parties controlling the Indonesian electoral scene has facilitated a political life that is dominated by personal rivalry and ambitions, and which has opened the way for dynasty building.
The lack of real political difference among the various contenders for the top political job in Indonesia has paved the way for the culture of political dynasties to strengthen. Will this culture win out? The votes will tell.
This Long Read argues that the polarisation perceived in Indonesian mainstream politics is more rhetorical than real. They mainly reflect opportunistic tactical calculations and obscure the real polarisations in Indonesia’s political landscape.