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Between the Internal Struggle and Electoral Rules Effect: The Challenges of Political Islam in a Democratic Indonesia

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Society and Democracy in South Korea and Indonesia

Part of the book series: Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia ((SDHRP))

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Abstract

While recent research on political Islam in Indonesia suggests the growing influence of Islamic political power, the contemporary development also exposes the rarely discussed shortcomings of political Islam. This chapter makes the case that the challenges Islamic political groups face come primarily from themselves. Although they managed to display a robust showing on some occasions, it is shown that the power of Islamic groups has largely been tamed and stagnated. It explores two possible outcomes: the hurdle in maintaining their organizational coherence and the involvement of party leaders in corruption scandals. Additionally, the applied electoral system has contributed to driving Islamic parties more at the fringe, although they maintain to play representative roles in a limited way.

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Okthariza, N. (2022). Between the Internal Struggle and Electoral Rules Effect: The Challenges of Political Islam in a Democratic Indonesia. In: Howe, B. (eds) Society and Democracy in South Korea and Indonesia. Security, Development and Human Rights in East Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06267-4_3

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