ABSTRACT
Indonesia has been going through a period of rapid changes since the collapse of the Suharto authoritarian regime in May 1998. In an attempt to further democratization, there is now a growing awareness that building a democratic political system involves more than just the establishment of political institutions and practices, such as representative government, political parties or general elections. Important as these institutions and practices are, they are no guarantee for a stable and sustainable democratic society. Democracy can only be advanced if it is built upon a strong and active civil society. As Stephen Macedo (2000: 53) put it, ‘the foundations of democracy lie as much in civil society as in formal political institutions’. Thus, the establishment of civil society as a countervailing force vis-à-vis the state in postSuharto Indonesia is a challenge to those who want to develop a genuine democratic political system.
