Civil Society Material

1. Name : Bevan Pramudito Hendratman
Student Number : 14010120190051
Subject : Civil Society and Democracy
Question:
Based on video WAJAH DEMOKRASI 4.0: MENJAGA RUANG AMAN MEREKA YANG
BERSUARA. First, could academic be seen as part of the civil society to strengthen
democracy? If yes, have they performed as expected? Second, how do you think about the
current state of academic freedom in Indonesia? What are the challenges and opportunities of
the Indonesian academic freedom? Third, what kind of responses that those academics get
when protesting state's policy to revise the law on Indonesian anti-corruption body? Why can
it be considered as cyber terror?
Answer:
Yes, academics can be seen as an important part of civil society that can play a role in
strengthening democracy. They have knowledge and expertise in academia that can be used to
analyze, understand, and provide in-depth insights on political, social, and economic issues
related to democracy.
The performance of academics in strengthening democracy can vary depending on the
individual and the context. Several academics play an active role in evaluating critical thinking,
research, and analysis that contribute to discussion and public opinion on democracy issues.
They can also be effective monitors of government policies and public institutions. However,
there are also some academics who may be influenced by political factors or certain external
pressures, so that their performance does not always meet expectations.
My opinion on the current provisions for academic freedom in Indonesia is based on
information up to September 2021, so recent changes may not have been covered. Indonesia
has a strong academic tradition and several quality universities, but there are challenges to
academic freedom. One of the main challenges is the existence of limitations and pressure on
academic freedom which can affect the independence of academics in hiding, analyzing and
conveying their research results. Sometimes, there are legal or policy constraints that can limit
free expression or punish the government.
In addition, political or social pressure can also affect intellectual freedom. However, there are
also opportunities for academic freedom in Indonesia. Civil society, including academics, has
an important role in fighting for and maintaining academic freedom. Student organizations,
non-governmental organizations and public advocacy can play important roles in supporting
academic freedom and protecting the rights of academics.
The responses of academics to the state policy to revise the Corruption Eradication
Commission Law (UU KPK) may vary. Some academics may protest the revision because they
see it as a step that can reduce the independence and effectiveness of the KPK in eradicating
corruption. They may use their academic knowledge and authority to overwhelm them through
speeches, speeches, or peaceful demonstrations. The use of the term "cyber terror" may have
more to do with certain contexts in which protests or criticism from academics via social media
or online platforms face attacks or detention by certain groups or individuals. Such attacks may

2. take the form of cyberattacks, online vandalism, or the dissemination of false information to
slander and damage the reputation of academics.
It should be noted, however, that judging an act as "cyber terror" depends on the context and
the specific incident that occurred. It is important to ensure that criticism and protests are
conducted peacefully and in accordance with applicable laws.
Summary and Review from Youtube Peluncuran Buku “Demokrasi tanpa Demos”
A. Wijayanto resumes
Wijayanto discussed that democracy should be considered as an ongoing process, and not just
an end goal. He criticized that democracy in Indonesia is currently more focused on formal
institutions such as elections and parliament and pays little attention to civil society
participation. Wijayanto also stated that democracy in Indonesia is often colored by injustice,
such as large economic disparities and rampant corruption. He concluded that to improve
democracy in Indonesia, efforts were needed to strengthen civil society participation and
improve governance. In his book, Wijayanto criticizes the general view of democracy as a form
of government based on the power of the people or demos. He believes that democracy in
Indonesia cannot be explained using the concept of demos because the majority of Indonesian
people do not have equal access to resources and political opportunities.
According to Wijayanto, the concept of democracy used in Indonesia should involve an
understanding of inequality in access to political power and resources. He suggests that there
are three important factors to consider in evaluating the quality of democracy in Indonesia:
access to information, access to resources, and access to power networks. In his book,
Wijayanto provides examples showing how this access inequality affects the political and
economic system in Indonesia. Wijayanto also presents various solutions to improve the quality
of democracy in Indonesia, including increasing transparency and political participation,
increasing access to resources, and reforming power networks. He argued that a better
democracy would be achieved if we corrected the existing social and economic disparities in
Indonesia.

3. B. Jeffrey Winters resumes
Jeffrey Winters is a professor of political science at Northwestern University and the author of
"Oligarchy". In his book, Winters introduces the concept of "resource oligarchy" as a new
model for understanding political and economic power in Indonesia. According to Winters, a
resource oligarchy consists of a small group of people who have access to abundant natural
resources, such as mines or forests. Their power is based on their ability to control access to
these resources, and they often have close relationships with government and military officials.
Winters also presents various examples showing how this resource oligarchy influences the
political and economic system in Indonesia. He argues that the powers of these resource
oligarchs are very difficult to limit or cancel because they have enormous influence on the
government and military. Jeffrey Winters discusses the concept of oligarchy and how oligarchy
can undermine democracy. He argued that oligarchy is a power system in which a few people
who have great wealth and power can control political and economic policies. This can lead to
injustice and threaten the sustainability of democracy. Winters also discussed that oligarchs can
be affected by issues such as economic and social injustice, and that efforts to reduce oligarchy
power should be accompanied by more inclusive economic reforms.
C. Dirk Thomas resumes.
Dirk Thomas discusses the relationship between democracy and constitution. He argued that
the constitution should not only be a formal document, but also contain the desired values and
principles in a democracy. Thomas criticized that in Indonesia, the constitution is often ignored
and not respected, so this can undermine democracy. He also discussed the importance of press
and media freedom in supporting democracy, and concluded that the constitution and freedom
of the press must be strengthened to improve democracy in Indonesia. He describes how
indigenous peoples often practice democracy in the context of everyday life, such as in joint
decision-making and conflict resolution. Thomas emphasized that indigenous peoples'
democratic practices need to be recognized and valued as a legitimate and valuable form of
democracy, and that they can provide inspiration for the development of a more inclusive and
participatory democracy in Indonesia as a whole.
Thomas highlighted several issues that are still obstacles in the process of democratization in
Indonesia, such as widespread corruption, frequent human rights violations, political violence,

4. and abuse of power by political elites. He also discussed religious and identity issues which are
sources of conflict in Indonesia. However, Thomas also showed some positive signs in the
process of democratization in Indonesia, such as the more active participation of the public in
the political process, the emergence of more independent media, and the stronger presence of
civil society organizations
Cyber Terror, the Academic Anti-corruption Movement and Indonesian Democratic
Regression
The concept of cyber terror has been developed over more than a decade. Initially the term
referred to the traditional terror attacks carried out on crucial technological infrastructure to
create extreme adverse effects, such as manipulating food and drug manufacturing, sabotaging
power plants to create explosions or interfering with air traffic control. However, more recently,
some academics have broadened the definition to include digital attacks in the pursuit of certain
social and political goals that leaves a detrimental psychological impact on their targets. This
evolving notion of cyber terror attacks emphasizes the political and/or ideological motivations
underlying the attacks, and the intention to provoke fear and intimidate their targets. As Gabriel
Weimann argues, cyber terror attacks must include a ‘terrorist’ component, in the sense that the
attacks must instill terror as commonly understood and have a political motivation. Myriam
Dunn Cavelty echoed these themes in defining cyber terror as cyber incidents mounted by sub-
national terrorist groups aimed at parts of the information infrastructure, instill terror by effects
that are sufficiently destructive or disruptive to generate fear, and must have a political,
religious, or ideological motivation».
The first is the criminalization of online activism and criticism of the government under the
Information and Electronic Transactions Law, which was enacted in 2008. The Indonesian
advocacy organization SAFEnet has noted that 287 criminal cases have been brought against
citizens, journalists and activists under the law between 2008 and 2019, with 24 cases in 2019
alone.
This article examines the cyber terror attacks perpetrated against an academic movement in
2019 that was formed to oppose the bill revising the KPK Law, which would have weakened
the anti-corruption commission and the broader effort to eradicate graft in Indonesia. The
movement was very influential, quickly receiving widespread support from academics across
multiple Indonesian universities due to its use of digital media, especially WhatsApp group
chats.

5. Democratic Regression and Authoritarian Practices in Indonesia
Asia and the Pacific is one of the regions most affected by democratic erosion, with more than
half of its democracies suffering from it. India is currently experiencing democratic backsliding
and has the highest number of democratic declines since 2013. The Philippines, also a
democratically backsliding country, follows India in the number of democratic declines. This
difference results in different formulations of democratic regression from one another. The first
part will discuss debates among experts about what, when, to what extent, and how the
democratic decline occurred in Indonesia. The second part will present the findings and
analysis on when and to what extent the decline of democracy took place in Indonesia by
referring to the Ziblat as well as formulating indicators of ongoing democratic decline. One of
them is Mietzner who uses the term ‘democratic deconsolidation’ which he defines as a process
in which democracies gradually lose their quality over time, and which may or may not lead to
a full democratic reversal. In his later work with Aspinall, he further emphasizes his argument
by suggesting that democratic decline is synonymous with terms such as backsliding, recession,
or deconsolidation which refers to a situation where the quality of democracy quality has
declined from a previously achieved level. The definition also proposed by Warburton and
Power who theorize democratic decline as a process that progresses slowly which is
characterized by a situation where political actors are slowly turning away from democratic
values and institutions.