CDI's new Policy Paper & Seminar Series on Political Governance was launched on 5 June with a public seminar and the publication of a policy paper which marked the first serious analysis of the role of Indonesia's new regional assembly, the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD). The DPD is one of a series of constitutional reforms in Indonesia in recent years that aim to strengthen the powers of the parliament and improve the functioning of representative democracy, such as the direct election of the President and a powerful new role for the lower house of parliament, the DPR.
The DPD, or Regional Representative Assembly, was created with the intention of increasing the role of the regions in making laws. As a new representative assembly with some quite unusual features, the DPD has not yet been analysed in any detail. The CDI report considers certain questions about whether the DPD is as representative of the regions as its proponents would claim, whether it has provided a new entry point for regional aspirations into political and policy debate and what problems the DPD faces in attempting to define a role for itself in the future of Indonesian politics.
The Policy Paper was authored by Dr Stephen Sherlock, an Associate at the Centre for Democratic Institutions and a political analyst and development consultant, specialising in Indonesia and South and Southeast Asia. Over 30 representatives from government, academia, and foreign embassies attended the seminar. The Policy Paper is available for download through this link:
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< Dr Greg Fealy (ANU) & CDI Director Ben Reilly at the seminar
Seminar participants> |
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