Book contents
- Unity through Division
- Unity through Division
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Explaining Democratic Survival in Indonesia
- 3 The Ideological Roots of Electoral Politics
- 4 Political Elites and Ideological Competition
- 5 Public Opinion on Political Islam
- 6 Ideological Representation
- 7 Meaning and Evaluation of Democracy
- 8 Conclusions
- References
- Index
6 - Ideological Representation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2022
- Unity through Division
- Unity through Division
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Explaining Democratic Survival in Indonesia
- 3 The Ideological Roots of Electoral Politics
- 4 Political Elites and Ideological Competition
- 5 Public Opinion on Political Islam
- 6 Ideological Representation
- 7 Meaning and Evaluation of Democracy
- 8 Conclusions
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter jointly studies elite and mass survey data to probe whether political Islam functions as the main avenue for representation in Indonesia. It analyzes patterns of substantive representation both on economic and social-religious issues, first by looking at how the distribution of preferences among the political elite corresponds with the mass public, and then more specifically at the role played by political parties as avenues of democratic representation. The findings show that, while a substantial degree of ideological congruence between politicians and voters can be observed on political Islam, the opposite is true for economic policy. By leveraging a survey experiment, I further probe the extent to which public preferences about political Islam are pliable to partisan considerations, as I find that partisan individuals may change their position on political-religious issues in response to elite cues. This chapter thus documents that democracy in Indonesia has provided a substantial degree of ideological representation, and that political parties, while deficient in other respects, have performed an essential (if imperfect) democratic function in this domain.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Unity through DivisionPolitical Islam, Representation and Democracy in Indonesia, pp. 135 - 164Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022