Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta
This article examines how social movements based in poor communities make electoral alliances with politicians in contemporary Indonesia. Drawing on case studies of the urban poor in two elections in Jakarta, we point to a pattern of adversarial linkages by which movements present candidates with de...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2017-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341703600301 |
| _version_ | 1811223773643276288 |
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| author | Amalinda Savirani Edward Aspinall |
| author_facet | Amalinda Savirani Edward Aspinall |
| author_sort | Amalinda Savirani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines how social movements based in poor communities make electoral alliances with politicians in contemporary Indonesia. Drawing on case studies of the urban poor in two elections in Jakarta, we point to a pattern of adversarial linkages by which movements present candidates with demands – in this case about housing and livelihood security – which are then distilled in formal ‘political contracts’. Unlike institutionalised relationships between parties and social constituencies in many democracies, these linkages are ad hoc, pragmatic and characterised by mistrust. In Jakarta, they involved disaggregation rather than aggregation of interests, with movement actors in the second election in 2017 seeking concrete gains relating to land and livelihoods in particular neighbourhoods, rather than a broad programme of urban reform, as had been their goal in 2012. We suggest that such adversarial linkages are a feature of contemporary Indonesian politics. They allow marginal groups to make contingent political gains but are compatible with prevailing clientelistic patterns, which limit their potential to promote systemic change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:38:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33f0ceca894743bc9df7e73c19502e9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1868-1034 1868-4882 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:38:21Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| spelling | doaj.art-33f0ceca894743bc9df7e73c19502e9e2022-12-22T03:39:57ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs1868-10341868-48822017-12-013610.1177/186810341703600301Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in JakartaAmalinda Savirani0Edward Aspinall1Department of Politics and Government, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.This article examines how social movements based in poor communities make electoral alliances with politicians in contemporary Indonesia. Drawing on case studies of the urban poor in two elections in Jakarta, we point to a pattern of adversarial linkages by which movements present candidates with demands – in this case about housing and livelihood security – which are then distilled in formal ‘political contracts’. Unlike institutionalised relationships between parties and social constituencies in many democracies, these linkages are ad hoc, pragmatic and characterised by mistrust. In Jakarta, they involved disaggregation rather than aggregation of interests, with movement actors in the second election in 2017 seeking concrete gains relating to land and livelihoods in particular neighbourhoods, rather than a broad programme of urban reform, as had been their goal in 2012. We suggest that such adversarial linkages are a feature of contemporary Indonesian politics. They allow marginal groups to make contingent political gains but are compatible with prevailing clientelistic patterns, which limit their potential to promote systemic change.https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341703600301 |
| spellingShingle | Amalinda Savirani Edward Aspinall Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| title | Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta |
| title_full | Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta |
| title_fullStr | Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta |
| title_short | Adversarial Linkages: The Urban Poor and Electoral Politics in Jakarta |
| title_sort | adversarial linkages the urban poor and electoral politics in jakarta |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341703600301 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amalindasavirani adversariallinkagestheurbanpoorandelectoralpoliticsinjakarta AT edwardaspinall adversariallinkagestheurbanpoorandelectoralpoliticsinjakarta |