The Indonesian surprise

The worlds biggest Muslim country has changed from authoritarian basket-case to regional role modelTHE Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s helped bring regime change in both the country where it started, Thailand, and the one where the devastation it wrought was most profound, Indonesia. At the time Thailands prospects for political stability seemed infinitely brighter. A cohesive nation whose army seemed to have withdrawn from politics, it adopted a new constitution, drafted in an impeccably consultative process. Indonesia, however, woke up in 1998 from the 32-year Suharto dictatorship with a dreadful hangoverblood on the streets of Jakarta, separatist conflicts on the periphery and a chaotic explosion of repressed political activity, some of it tinged with Islamist extremism.Yet as Indonesia prepares for its third national parliamentary elections since then, to be held on April 9th, it has a fair claim to be South-East Asias only fully functioning democracy. Unfettered by Thailands draconian lese-majeste laws, or the fierce interpretations of what constitutes defamation in Singapore and Malaysia, the press is vibrant and free. Unlike Thailands army, which returned to politics with a coup in 2006, Indonesias has stayed back in the barracks. And unlike the Philippines, where elections dominated by guns, goons and gold lead to dozens of murders, Indonesia has enjoyed a largely peaceful campaign. Indonesias corruption rates probably still top regional charts, but the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made strides in attacking it. ...