Old society, new youths : an overview of youth and popular participation in post-reformasi Indonesia

Abstract

An outmoded conception of youth in post-Reformasi Indonesia had led to an essentialisation of the demography into a dichotomous characterisation between that of “demography dividends” and “ticking time-bombs”. In contemporary Indonesia, futurists see youths as fiduciary members of the developmentalist state agenda while pessimists take opprobrium at their volatile and violent track-record. This paper rejects both premises as instances of “Old Society” intrusion into the perceptions of Indonesian youth. Instead it ventures into an in-depth, sober examination of their present state of affairs and predicament. Based heavily upon empirical data from a range of surveys, polls and census, it had been shown that state and institutional attempts at reclaiming/redefining youths as their won fell short of ground realities. Youth emanating particularly from the Y-Generation and beyong have more agency than conventionally felt and it is increasingly imperative that their opinions on democratisation and decentralisation, twin aspects of reform efforts in Indonesia, are urgently taken into account given their potential for growth and influence.