Democratization and Political Succession in Suharto's Indonesia Author(s): Leo Suryadinata Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Mar., 1997), pp. 269-280 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2645663 Accessed: 15-09-2016 05:52 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Asian Survey This content downloaded from 175.45.185.255 on Thu, 15 Sep 2016 05:52:49 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms DEMOCRATIZATION AND POLITICAL SUCCESSION IN SUHARTO'S INDONESIA Leo Suryadinata Indonesia has often been described as an authoritarian state. The military, represented by General Suharto, has ruled the country since the 1965 coup. However, some observers maintain that in recent years the authoritarian regime appears to have been softening, evidenced by the weakening role of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) in the political pro- cess. President Suharto appointed fewer military personnel to his 1993 cabi- net and selected a civilian to be the general chairman of Golkar, the ruling party; he also reduced the military composition of Golkar at the national level and the number of military representatives (unelected) in the forthcoming Parliament (DPR).