ABSTRACT
This volume makes it clear that there is a will to embrace democracy on the part of many Indonesian intellectuals. It has also shown that Indonesian intellectuals are sensitive to their specific geography, and to the unique political trajectory that their country has followed since independence. Indonesians are not sentimental about the brutal governments which have come to power in their country. Nor are they slow to note the pervasive culture of corruption which continues to subvert the potential of the country from within. on the other hand, they note, with justified pride, the contributions which Islam and Muslims have made to the development of democracy in the largest Muslim country in the world. This suggests, we believe, that a critically informed pride in Islam, and in its inherent rationality and universality, offers the best foundation for democracy in Indonesia (Azra 2006). On the other hand, Western political theory is an outstanding resource upon which Indonesians can draw in their process of renewal, as the chapters in this volume by Zifcak, Maddox, Patapan, Stokes, Thompson, Hindess, Kane, Crowder and Camilleri demonstrate.
