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Indonesia: legitimacy, secular democracy, and Islam
In the tumultuous final months of the Suharto regime, few predicted that in 2010 Southeast Asia would have one successful democratic nation marked by political openness, social stability, and steady economic growth-and that that nation would be Indonesia. The success of the world's third largest democracy is all the more remarkable because it is also the world's largest Muslim country. Secular democracy and Islam are widely thought to be antithetical. It is commonly believed that either secularism or democracy might prevail in Muslim-majority states but not both together. Indonesia's democratic transition challenges this assumption and draws attention to the generally positive and substantial contribution of Islamic leaders and Islamic civil society movements to reform and democratization. And poor polling by Islamist parties suggests that for the vast majority of Indonesians, secular democracy and Islam are absolutely compatible and that the main source of legitimacy is good governance and its fruits.
History
Journal
Politics and policyVolume
38Issue
3Pagination
471 - 496Publisher
John Wiley & SonsLocation
Chichester, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1555-5623eISSN
1747-1346Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2010, The Policy Studies OrganizationUsage metrics
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