Despite decades of democratic reforms following the fall of President Suharto, Indonesia’s political landscape remains shaped by a resilient class of oligarchs. From the national stage to newly decentralized regions, these powerful networks have adapted to dominate the very institutions meant to curb their influence. So, how do Indonesia’s oligarchs operate today? Why did the post-authoritarian Reformasi movement fail to dismantle them? And with President Prabowo Subianto now at the helm, is Indonesia’s oligarchic system becoming more entrenched — or can a new generation of reformers still challenge it? Veteran Asia studies researcher Prof Vedi Hadiz of Asia Institute joins presenter Sami Shah to examine the enduring power of Indonesia’s oligarchic class, and what it means for the country’s economic and democratic future.
An Asia Institute podcast. Produced and edited by profactual.com. Music by audionautix.com. Transcript forthcoming.
Professor Hadiz is co-author, together with Richard Robison, of the widely cited book 2004, Reorganizing power: politics of oligarchy in an age of markets, which has been updated to an expanded 2026 edition titled Oligarchy and the End of Reformasi: power reorganised, published by Routledge.
Image: President Prabowo Subianto Announces Red and White Cabinet for 2024-2029. Credit: Wiki Commons.
