Open AccessThe Position of Religious Minorities in Indonesia’s Democratic Transition: A Study toward Critical Overview
Author(s) -
Maksimus Regus
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of interreligious and intercultural studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2655-3538
pISSN - 2654-2706
DOI - 10.32795/ijiis.vol2.iss2.2019.453
Subject(s) - democratization , democracy , authoritarianism , political science , politics , citizenship , state (computer science) , context (archaeology) , minority rights , decentralization , position (finance) , sociology , law , political economy , geography , economics , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , finance
The problems of democratic transition as a context of this study will be analyzed. Also, violence and political exclusion of the religious minority groups will be explained. At the end of the chapter, the possibility of political will and legal solutions for violence against religious minority groups in Indonesia in the post-1998 era are discussed. It is explained that a comprehensive legal protection scheme would be needed to realize the rights of religious minorities in Indonesia. One of the fundamental purposes of democratization in the post-authoritarian era is thus shown to be the protection of religious minority groups. The chapter will first discuss the problem of democratic changes with a focus on the politics of decentralization and the critical practice of civil democracy, which will all be explored, the two significant changes affecting the position of religious minorities in Indonesia. The chapter will then consider the exclusion of religious minorities and the failure of the ‘democratic’ state to protect their basic citizenship rights. Next, the role of the state and of civil society in the implementation of non-respect of legal protection for religious minority communities will be considered based on the critical overview.