Military withdrawal from government responsibility: Indonesia and Mexico

Military withdrawal from government responsibility: Indonesia and Mexico

Ideally, following military intervention in politics the military would withdraw and hand over government to democratic forces. Such a direct handover is unlikely as it does not guarantee the interests of the military or ensure political and economic security, and can lead to a cycle of re-intervention. I use a comparative approach in this article, which focuses on how it is possible for the armed forces to remove themselves from active involvement in political life, while ensuring that their long-term interests are maintained. Such an approach increases the likelihood of military withdrawal in a peaceful manner, and an eventual transition to democracy. Using the case of the long-term successful disengagement of the Mexican armed forces from the 1920s and 1930s onwards as a model, this journal article analyses similarities between the Mexican and Indonesian case studies to illustrate there are clear indicators that the Indonesian military could be in the process of a long-term withdrawal from government responsibility. In the Mexican case study, the creation of the state based Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) served as a vehicle for a gradual transition of power from direct military rule. In the case of Indonesia, creation of Partai Golongan Karya (Golkar - the Party of Functional Groups) also served the same purpose. Theoretical approaches of military withdrawal considered in this case study are those of Samuel Huntington (1968), Finer (1968) and Sundhaussen (1984).

c. Flinders University.