SEARC's March 1st Seminar: Indonesia's Tryst with Destiny by Prof Peter Carey on 10 March 2014

Seminar

Indonesia's Tryst with Destiny: The 2014 elections and the challenges of democracy in historical perspective, 1998-2014

Prof Peter Carey

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Humanities,
University of Indonesia &
Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College, Oxford

Date: 10 March 2014 (Monday)

Time: 4 pm – 5:30 pm

Venue: Y4-702, AC1, City University of Hong Kong

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Abstract
The April and June 2014 legislative and presidential elections in Indonesia are without doubt the most important elections of the reformasi (democratic reform) period (1998 to present), and will determine the country’s future in an era of rapid demographic and social change. Peter Carey’s 10 March presentation will look at the issues confronting Indonesia in the historical perspective of the past sixteen years. He will develop various scenarios for the coming decade based on the track record of the three key presidential candidates, former generals Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, and businessman Aburizal Bakrie, and the still undeclared candidacy of the popular Governor of Jakarta, Haji Joko Widodo (Jokowi), the likely choice of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the. Given that 40 percent of Indonesian voters are below the age of 35, the presentation will consider whether 2014 will mark a generational change in leadership and a move towards a new style of democratic governance which can provide answers for the most pressing current issues confronting the country, focussing on the environment, religious pluralism, corruption and the re-greening of the Indonesian political elite.

Short Bio
Peter Carey is Adjunct Professor at the Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya (Faculty of Humanities) of the Universitas Indonesia (University of Indonesia), in Jakarta and Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College, Oxford. His short biography of the Indonesian national hero, Prince Diponegoro (1785-1855), Destiny; The Life and Times of Prince Diponegoro of Yogyakarta, 1785-1855, will be published in April in Oxford and Jakarta.