Muslim Politics and Democratisation in Indonesia

In the wake of the 2004 elections, three eminent Southeast Asian scholars analyse the political struggles of post-Suharto Indonesia. Dr Luthfi Assyaukanie considers the search for an ideal model of polity and focuses on the santri generation, which entered the public arena in the 1970s. Professor Robert Hefner discusses the influence of informal Muslim politics on Indonesia's formal political process, the rise of Islamist paramilitaries, and the conservative turn among ulama groups like the MUI. Finally, Professor Azyumardi Azra explores the compatibility of an Islamic state and democracy and evaluates the 2004 elections in Indonesia.