Public opinion and democracy in Indonesia; A case study during Joko Widodo Presidency

Abstract

Following the falls of Soeharto‟s regime in 1998, the Indonesian media turned as amongst the most liberal in the world. With the support of mass and social media, the current Indonesia‟s President, Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”), elected as the 7th President in 2014. His humble and simple personality has supported his victory and a positive public opinion has created him a media darling. His clean bureaucratic track record made him a novel reformist politician which did not involve in corruption, collusion, and nepotism practices, something that associated especially with the New Order Era. This research is analyzing the role of mass and social media during Jokowi‟s era. The time of analysis will be covering the period of 2014-2018, or the first terms of his administration. The analysis will be divides into three periods; during the 2014 general election, after the election and the period of presidency, and re-election for the second term in 2018. During the 2014 election, the media was widely used to spread rumors and allegations. As a result, the 2014 presidential race was the most negative and polarizing in the modern Indonesian history. After the election, Jokowi used the media to communicate and inform his government‟s achievements, especially in infrastructure developments all across the archipelago. During his second term presidential campaign, the media has been effectively used to increase his electability people supports. The research methodology is analyzing the communication using social and mass media, as the most important communication tools in the digital age. Further analysis will be on Jokowi‟s ability to communicate with his allies, the opposition parties, and the people, that enable him to maintain positive public opinion.