Jokowi in the Covid-19 Era: Repressive Pluralism, Dynasticism and the Overbearing State

The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown President Joko Widodo’s second-term plans into disarray. Jokowi’s aspiration for dramatically accelerated development between 2019 and 2024 to secure his legacy as a transformative president now appears unachievable. As he has grappled with managing the pandemic and salvaging key parts of his agenda, he has consistently prioritised the economy over public health, and has also abandoned commitments to uphold or strengthen an array of political and civil rights that are crucial to the quality of Indonesian democracy. He has allowed the military and intelligence services to greatly expand their role in public life, and his government has, in the name of defending Indonesian pluralism, initiated discriminatory measures against sections of the Islamist community, which the government sees as sectarian and intolerant. The president’s reformist credentials have also been dented by Jokowi’s decision to support the nominations of his son and son-in-law in mayoral elections in two major cities, bringing accusations of dynasticism and elitism.