Democracy, Corruption and the Politics of Spirits in Contemporary Indonesia

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Democracy, Corruption and the Politics of Spirits in Contemporary Indonesia by Nils Bubandt, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nils Bubandt ISBN: 9781317682516
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: June 5, 2014
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Nils Bubandt
ISBN: 9781317682516
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: June 5, 2014
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Indonesia has been an electoral democracy for more than a decade, and yet the political landscape of the world’s third-largest democracy is as complex and enigmatic as ever. The country has achieved a successful transition to democracy and yet Indonesian democracy continues to be flawed, illiberal, and predatory.

This book suggests that this and other paradoxes of democracy in Indonesia often assume occult forms in the Indonesian political imagination, and that the spirit-like character of democracy and corruption traverses into the national media and the political elite. Through a series of biographical accounts of political entrepreneurs, all of whom employ spirits in various, but always highly contested, ways, the book seeks to provide a portrait of Indonesia’s contradictory democracy, contending that the contradictions that haunt democracy in Indonesia also infect democracy globally. Exploring the intimate ways in which the world of politics and the world of spirits are entangled, it argues that Indonesia’s seemingly peculiar problems with democracy and spirits in fact reflect a set of contradictions within democracy itself.

Engaging with recent attempts to look at contemporary politics through the lens of the occult, Democracy, Corruption and the Politics of Spirits in Contemporary Indonesia will be of interest to academics in the fields of Asian Studies, Anthropology and Political Science and relevant for the study of Indonesian politics and for debates about democracy in Asia and beyond.

 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Indonesia has been an electoral democracy for more than a decade, and yet the political landscape of the world’s third-largest democracy is as complex and enigmatic as ever. The country has achieved a successful transition to democracy and yet Indonesian democracy continues to be flawed, illiberal, and predatory.

This book suggests that this and other paradoxes of democracy in Indonesia often assume occult forms in the Indonesian political imagination, and that the spirit-like character of democracy and corruption traverses into the national media and the political elite. Through a series of biographical accounts of political entrepreneurs, all of whom employ spirits in various, but always highly contested, ways, the book seeks to provide a portrait of Indonesia’s contradictory democracy, contending that the contradictions that haunt democracy in Indonesia also infect democracy globally. Exploring the intimate ways in which the world of politics and the world of spirits are entangled, it argues that Indonesia’s seemingly peculiar problems with democracy and spirits in fact reflect a set of contradictions within democracy itself.

Engaging with recent attempts to look at contemporary politics through the lens of the occult, Democracy, Corruption and the Politics of Spirits in Contemporary Indonesia will be of interest to academics in the fields of Asian Studies, Anthropology and Political Science and relevant for the study of Indonesian politics and for debates about democracy in Asia and beyond.

 

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Journalists in Peril by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Generation 1.5 in College Composition by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Slavery, Colonialism and Connoisseurship by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book The Course of Mexican Music by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Urban Poverty and Climate Change by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Play in Philosophy and Social Thought by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Why Traditional Chinese Philosophy Still Matters by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Bisexuality in the Lives of Men by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book The Violence Within by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Credit Management by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book The Construction of Reformed Identity in Jean Crespin's Livre des Martyrs by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Eros and Economy by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Local Climate Change and Society by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Achieving Success through Academic Assertiveness by Nils Bubandt
Cover of the book Strategies for Postsecondary Education by Nils Bubandt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy