A decade on: ‘the war on terror’ and Indonesia’s militant Islamist groups

Carnegie, Paul J. (2012) A decade on: ‘the war on terror’ and Indonesia’s militant Islamist groups. Democracy & Society, 9 (1). pp. 2-6. ISSN NA

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Abstract

In the late 1990s, Indonesia the world’s most populous Muslim nationb egan a transition to democracy. At the time, many commentators expressed concern about the risks of Islamist ascendancy in the wake of Suharto’s downfall. Initially, the archipelago did witness a proliferation of Islamist paramilitary groups, but in the following decade since the transition many of the concerns have proved to be largely unfounded. In fact, today Indonesia accommodates a diverse amount of Islamic political expression within the framework of its democratic electoral system. However, the scenario raises some questions. First, how did Indonesia contain its paramilitary threat? And second, what lessons, if any, can we draw from this? In order to attempt to answer these questions, the best approach is to take a more detailed look at the make-up of these groups and the responses to them.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) > School of Government, Development and International Affairs
Depositing User:	Repo Editor
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2016 20:33
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2016 20:33
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/9154

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