INDONESIA New Jesuit research center on democracy inaugurated in Jakarta

On the occasion of World Human Rights Day, PRAKSIS was inaugurated. After ten years of politics increasingly in the hands of a small elite and the increase in the socioeconomic gap in the country, its objective is to “promote the common good.” Also present at the presentation was the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who denounced the damage that the weakening of democracy in Indonesia has caused to society.

Jakarta () – “Democracy in Indonesia is a project that has not yet been fully realized.” Based on this awareness, on December 10, World Human Rights Day, the Indonesian Society of Jesus inaugurated PRAKSIS – “Pusat Riset dan Advokasi Serikat Jesus” or “Jesuit Research and Defense Center” – whose fundamental objective is the study of democracy in terms of the common good.

The motto of the initiative is, indeed, “Pursue democracy to promote the common good” and was deliberately chosen because Indonesia, as a nation and as a State, is still in search of its own democratic style. This awareness has been a trending topic in many debates leading up to the launch of the new institution.

According to the joint statement released on the occasion of the inauguration, Indonesian democracy is still far from being fully realized due to a number of important challenges, including civil liberties, political rights and the socio-economic gap, which do not they favor democratization and undermine any effort to achieve the objective The PRAKSIS center, explained the director Fr. Maswan Susinto will attempt to map Indonesia’s politics and economy in the period 2014-2024, based on interdisciplinary perspectives and an ethical-theological reflection founded on the social doctrine of the Church.

The data from which the investigation is based is multiple. Firstly, the conviction that Indonesian politics in the decade 2014-2024 has taken clear steps backwards in the democratic process; Added to this is a reduction in the middle class, characterized by low-income workers and marked by a sharp decline in their financial capacity. The populist fusion of these two phenomena has led to a retreat of democracy. That is why the challenge is to search for Indonesia, based on the social teachings of the Church, another model of democracy that contributes to the common good.

In her speech at the inauguration, Alissa Wahid, daughter of President Abdurrahman Wahid “Gus Dur” (who held office between 1999 and 2001), denounced that Indonesian society has suffered because of the current democratic system. PRAKSIS researcher Dr Yanuar Nugroho added that Indonesian democracy is unhealthy because it is controlled by an elite, which is evident in the composition of those in power, an economy in the hands of a restricted group and an opposition weak and focused only on short-term development.

The superior of the Indonesian Society of Jesus, Fr. Benedictus Hari Juliawan, explained that the PRAKSIS research center was conceived because there is no common good without common participation and, therefore, without a healthy democracy. Also speaking at the inauguration were the director for participation, Fr. Angga Indraswara, and the director of the new center for research and advocacy, Fr. Por Baskara T. Wardaya. In statements to Fr. Wardaya explained that PRAKSIS, in addition to conducting research on human rights, democracy and social justice, will also accompany and provide services to marginalized people.