The continued dominance of legacy unions—state-backed unions inherited from the previous nondemocratic regime—has received little scholarly scrutiny. Through an analysis of Indonesia, this article presents a focused theoretical framework for analyzing the staying power of legacy unions and the strategies they pursue to maintain their dominance. The author argues that the capacity of legacy unions to survive is a product of inherited advantages (membership, institutional, and legal) and the transition context (economic conditions, union competition, and partisan links). Legacy unions adopt three strategies for survival—carrots, sticks, and reform—and pursue a strategy of reform only when they retain meager inherited advantages and face an unfavorable transition context. The article also offers suggestions for additional research to further develop the theoretical framework.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998a, January). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
2.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998b, March). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
3.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998c, June). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
4.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998d, August). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
5.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998e, September). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
6.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998f, October). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
7.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998g, November). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
8.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1998h, December). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
9.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1999a, January). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
10.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1999b, February). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
11.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(1999c, April). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
12.
American Center for International Labor Solidarity(2000). Monthly activities report. Jakarta, Indonesia: Author.
13.
Banuri, T., & Amadeo, E.J. (1991). Worlds within the Third World: Labor market institutions in Asia and Latin America. In Tariq Banuri (Ed.), Economic liberalization No panacea. The experiences of Latin America and Asia (pp. 171-220). Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
14.
Bellin, E. (2002). Stalled democracy: Capital, labor, and the paradox of state-sponsored development. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
15.
Bensusán, G., & Cook, M.L. (2003). Political transition and labor revitalization in Mexico. In D. B. Cornfield & H. J. McCammon (Ed.), Research in the sociology of work Volume 11. Labor revitalization: Global perspectives and new initiatives (pp. 229-267). New York: Elsevier .
16.
Bourchier, D. (1994). Solidarity: The new order's first free trade union . In D. Bourchier (Ed.), Indonesia's emerging proletariat: Workers and their struggles (pp. 52-63). Clayton , Australia: Monash University Press.
17.
Bunce, V. (1995). Comparing east and south. Journal of Democracy, 6(3), 87-100.
18.
Bunce, V. (2000). Comparative democratization: Big and bounded generalizations . Comparative Political Studies, 33(6/7), 707-734.
19.
Burgess, K. (2004). Parties and unions in the new global economy. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
20.
Cameron, D.R. (1984). Social democracy, corporatism, labor quiescence and the representation of economic interest in advanced capitalist society . In J. H. Goldthorpe (Ed.), Order and conflict in contemporary capitalism (pp. 143-178). Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
21.
Caraway, T. (2004). Protective repression, international pressure, and institutional design: Explaining labor reform in Indonesia. Studies in Comparative International Development, 39(3), 28-49.
22.
Caraway, T. (2006). Political openness and transnational activism: comparative insights from labor activism. Politics & Society , 34(2), 277-304.
23.
Chen, C., & Sil, R. (2006). Communist legacies, postcommunist transformations, and the fate of organized labor in Russia and China. Studies in Comparative International Development, 46(2), 62-87.
24.
Collier, R.B., & Collier, D. (1979). Inducements versus constraints: Disaggregating "corporatism." American Political Science Review, 73(4), 967-986.
25.
Collier, R.B., & Collier, D. (2002). Shaping the political arena: Critical junctures, the labor movement, and regime dynamics in Latin America. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
26.
Crawford, B., & Lijphart, A. (1995). Explaining political change in post-Communist eastern Europe: Old legacies, new institutions, hegemonic norms, and international pressures. Comparative Political Studies, 28(2), 171-199.
27.
Crowley, S. (2004). Explaining labor weakness in post-Communist Europe: Historical legacies and comparative perspective. East European Politics and Societies, 18(3), 394-429.
28.
Ekiert, G., & Hanson, S. E. (Eds.). (2003). Capitalism and democracy in central and eastern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press.
29.
Ford, M. (1999). Testing the limits of corporatism: Industrial relations in Suharto's Indonesia. Journal of Industrial Relations , 41(3), 372-392.
30.
Ford, M. (2000). Continuity and change in Indonesian labor relations in the Habibie interregnum. Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science, 28(2), 59-88.
31.
Ford, M. (2006). Emerging labor movements and the accountability dilemma: The case of Indonesia. In M. Dowdle (Ed.), Public accountability: Design and experience (pp. 157-173). Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.
32.
Garrett, G., & Lange, P. (1986). Performance in a hostile world: Economic growth in capitalist democracies, 1974-1983. World Politics, 38, 517-545.
33.
Geddes, B. (1995). A comparative perspective on the Leninist legacy in eastern Europe. Comparative Political Studies, 28(2), 239-274.
34.
Grzymala-Busse, A.M. (2002). Redeeming the Communist past: The regeneration of Communist parties in east central Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press.
35.
Hadiz, V.R. (1997). Workers and the state in new order Indonesia. New York: Routledge.
36.
Hagopian, F. (1993). After regime change: Authoritarian legacies, political representation, and the democratic future of South America. World Politics, 45, 464-500.
37.
Hicks, A., & Swank, D. (1984). On the political economy of welfare expansion: A comparative analysis of 18 advanced capitalist democracies, 1960-1971. Comparative Political Studies, 17(1), 81-119.
38.
Hirschman, A.O. (1978). Exit, voice, and the state. World Politics, 31(1), 90-107.
39.
Indonesian Documentation and Information Centre. (1981-1986). Indonesian workers and their right to organise. Leiden, Netherlands: Author.
40.
Kammen, D. (1997). A time to strike: Industrial strikes and changing class relations in new order Indonesia. Unpublished doctoral dissertation , Cornell University, Ithaca, NY .
41.
Kitschelt, H., Mansfeldova, Z., Markowski, R., & Toka, G. (1999). Post-Communist Party systems: Competition, representation, and inter-party cooperation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
42.
Korpi, W. (1983). The democratic class struggle. Boston: Routledge/Kegan Paul.
43.
KSPSI pimpinan Jacob Nuwa wea ternancam pecah. (2005, February 28). Sinar Harapan . Retrieved May 29, 2007, from http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/berita/0502/28/eko03.html
44.
Kubicek, P.J. (2004). Organized labor in postcommunist states: From solidarity to infirmity. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.
45.
La Botz, D. (2001). Made in Indonesia: Indonesian workers since Suharto . Cambridge, MA: South End Press .
46.
Lee, C.-S. (2002). Law and labor-management relations in South Korea: Advancing industrial democratization. In S. Cooney, T. Lindsey, R. Mitchell, & Y. Zhu (Eds.), Law and labor market regulation in East Asia (pp. 215-245). New York: Routledge.
47.
Levitsky, S., & Mainwaring, S. (2006). Organized labor and democracy in Latin America. Comparative Politics, 39(1), 43-62.
48.
Levitsky, S., & Way, L.A. (1998). Between a shock and a hard place: The dynamics of labor-backed adjustment in Poland and Argentina. Comparative Politics, 30(2), 171-192.
49.
Linz, J.J., & Stepan, A. (1996). Problems of democratic transition and consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
50.
Ministry of Labor(2005). Labor administration 2005. Seoul: Republic of Korea, Ministry of Labor.
51.
Murillo, M.V. (2001). Labor unions, partisan coalitions, and market reforms in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press.
52.
Payne, L.A. (2000). Uncivil movements: The armed right wing and democracy in Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
53.
Quinn, P. (1999). Trade union membership in Indonesia. Jakarta: International Labour Organization.
54.
Quinn, P. (2003). Freedom of association and collective bargaining: A study of Indonesian experience 1998-2003. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization.
55.
Robertson, G.B. (2004). Leading labor: Unions, politics, and protest in new democracies. Comparative Politics, 36(3), 253-271.
56.
Rueschemeyer, D. (2003). Can one or a few cases yield theoretical gains? In J. Mahoney & D. Rueschemeyer (Ed.), Comparative historical analysis in the social sciences (pp. 305-336). New York: Cambridge University Press.
57.
Stepan, A. (1978). The state and society: Peru in comparative perspective . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
58.
Stephens, J.D. (1986). The transition from capitalism to socialism. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
59.
Törnquist, O. (2004). Labor and democracy? Reflections on the Indonesian impasse. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 34(3), 377-399.
60.
Valenzuela, J.S. (1989). Labor movements and transitions to democracy: A framework for analysis. Comparative Politics, 21(4), 445-472.
61.
Wallerstein, M. (1989). Union organization in advanced industrial democracies . American Political Science Review, 83(2), 481-501.
