ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the new contentious politics in Jakarta since about 2010 is a case of international populist trends. The contextual historical dynamics are therefore analysed in this wider context to understand the openings but also challenges. A major argument is that the efforts to reproduce and scale up local participatory democratization and social contracts neglected democratic representation of issues and interests as well as the building of broader alliances, inclusive of most organized labour and urban poor. Hence it was difficult to sustain reformism and contain the rise of identity based right wing populism.
