International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS)

This study examines the progress of the development of local party organisation in Indonesia in the reformasi (reform) era. It examines branch organisation in the Malang branches of Partai Golkar (Golkar Party), Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP, Indonesian Democratic Party Struggle), Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN, National Mandate Party), and Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS, Prosperous Justice Party). Using Janda’s (1980) measures of party organisation (such as administrative arrangements, adherence to party regulations, and membership requirements), the thesis analyses how these local offices manage their day-to-day operations. The study finds that, in the Malang context, the more effective parties have more professional systems for administration and member management. Those same parties also tend to have a higher capacity to organise events and are more successful in cultivating members’ participation and involvement, as well as more rigid monitoring systems for career development and better coherence between local and national policies. In contrast, where party organisation is poor, branches tend to hold few activities, and have difficulties ensuring members’ participation. In short, the more organised parties have a clear advantage at the grassroots level.
The study concludes that Partai Golkar (an incumbent party) and PKS (a new party) are the best-run parties in Malang. A key claim made by the study is thus that – contrary to findings in some other post-authoritarian contexts – parties’ local organisational capacity relies on their resources and commitment, rather than
incumbency. This finding is significant since although the incumbent parties have so far proven their popularity in elections, internal organisation will be a strong determinant in party performance in the long run, particularly given the increasing importance of local political processes in Indonesian politics as a whole.