Populist Perceptions and Perceptions of Populism in Indonesia

Abstract

The populist rise of Megawati Soekarnoputri – Vice-President of Indonesia since the 1999 elections – is commonly explained in terms of Indonesia's ‘traditional political culture’ or ‘Javanese ideas of power’. In contrast, this paper establishes that Megawati emerged as an opposition figure in the course of the 1980s and 1990s through a series of highly contingent political events and manoeuvres that can be understood only in the context of the internal workings and tensions of the Suharto regime. Moreover, popular support for Megawati involved much more active popular mobilization on the part of her followers than suggestions of passive belief in her inherent charisma or notions of traditional political culture could possibly explain. The paper argues that Megawati's popularity, her alleged charisma, and her populist appeal must be understood as a relationship – a relationship which, like that between her father, Soekarno, and his supporters, has been characterized by an abiding tension, a tension that has been at the core of modern Indonesian politics. Seen in these terms, the populist rise of Megawati Soekarnoputri rode on a long pent-up mix of popular energies and aspirations, pitted against the Suharto regime and the military and civilian leaders of the New Order establishment.