Foreign Affairs. January-February 2020

Recent Books

January/February 2020 199

Reformist politicians can buck the system

in districts where the economy is more

diversified. But in most of the country,

the system has proved difficult to dislodge.

Rodan takes a critical look at attempts

to strengthen public participation in

government in Southeast Asia’s hybrid

regimes, which are neither fully demo-

cratic nor fully authoritarian. Singapore

added “nominated members of parlia-

ment” to its legislature to represent

various professional and social sectors

and created an outreach unit to get

public feedback on government programs.

The Philippines tried to weaken the grip

of political bosses by filling 20 percent

of the seats in Congress with candidates

put forward on national lists by regis-

tered parties and groups (weakening the

tremendous influence of local patronage)

and attempted to lift more people out of

poverty by introducing municipal-level

participatory budgeting. Malaysia set up

several consultation mechanisms for

parties, interest groups, and experts to

advise the government on economic

policy. But Rodan’s detailed examination

shows that these innovations didn’t

always have democratic outcomes. Party

bosses and oligarchs used them to fend

off popular discontent with increasing

economic inequality.

When Violence Works: Postconflict Violence

and Peace in Indonesia

BY PATRICK BARRON. Cornell

University Press, 2019, 300 pp.

Several Indonesian provinces demonstrate

a problem found in many parts of the

world: the persistence of violence even

after civil wars and ethnic conflicts come

to formal ends. The scale of such inci-

dents varies. After feuding Christians and

helpful, whether in disciplining the foreign
owners of factories in Vietnam, rooting
out local corruption, signaling displeasure
with China, or providing a safety valve
for discontent. Kerkvliet suggests that this
tolerance for criticism contributes to the
regime’s high level of domestic support.

Democracy for Sale: Elections, Clientelism,
and the State in Indonesia
BY EDWARD ASPINALL AND WARD
BERENSCHOT. Cornell University
Press, 2019, 330 pp.

Participation Without Democracy:
Containing Conflict in Southeast Asia
BY GARRY RODAN. Cornell
University Press, 2018, 300 pp.

These two books offer deep insights into
political life in Southeast Asia and fresh
contributions to the age-old debate over
whether true democracy, uncompromised
by money and entrenched power, is ever
possible. Aspinall and Berenschot dig
into the vote-buying processes that have
emerged in Indonesia since its transition
to democracy in 1998. In older democra-
cies, political parties are institutionalized
and have tight control over state resources.
But the parties in Indonesia are weak, and
politicians can’t rely on the party appara-
tus; instead, they must mobilize support
through informal, freelance “success
teams” that are set up by local brokers
just for the duration of the campaign.
Civil servants often get involved, either as
candidates or as brokers, profiting off
their social networks and social standing.
Successful candidates recoup their
expenses using government resources.
This system helps incumbents remain in
power and opens the way for mining and
palm oil interests to collude with officials.