ABSTRACT
Indonesia has historically been suffering from institutional issues since the Dutch colonial period in the 1830s: extractive and coercive institutions were introduced with the forced Cultivation System (1830-70); guided and socialist institutions during the Soekarno presidency characterized by a blend of nationalism, religion and communism; and predatory institutions during the New Order with a rise of rent-seeking behaviours, corruption, collusion and cronyism. The ‘big bang’ democratization and decentralization in 1999 (introduced only in 2001) posed new problems in the Reformasi period (the period after the fall of the 32-year dictatorship of Soeharto), including a fragmented and unstable presidential and multi-party parliamentary system, an increase of local inter-ethnic and interreligious conflicts and violence, proliferation of autonomous district/ municipalities, decentralized corruption and widespread local capture. The postSoeharto government seems to be shadowed by a mix of the old and new oligarchic forces.
