PKS in Indonesia’s Multiparty System

This chapter explores the origins and development of Islamism in Indonesia after the country's democratization and Reformasi initiatives of 1998 which led to the creation of Islamist parties. It also looks at how the plural nature of Indonesian society and politics affects the chances of Islamists enforcing a literal interpretation of sharia law. We can observe the common trend Islamist parties and movements have regarding policies on a variety of problems in Indonesia, even though different Islamist groups compete for support in the country. The chapter concludes that rising Islamist conservatism and populism due to social media dominance pose a challenge to the establishment and that the government tends to respond in an authoritarian way which leads to levelling up the risk of damaging Indonesia’s reputation as a moderate Muslim country and disturbing the continuation of the democratic development in the country.