Abstract

The Indonesian military remains one of the most crucial institutions in a
democratising Indonesia and continues to be a key factor in any discussion regarding
the future of the country. Forced to withdraw from formal politics at the end of the
New Order regime, the military leadership has been embarking on a series of reforms
to “professionalise” the armed forces, while maintaining their standing within
Indonesian society. This paper attempts to provide an assessment of the military
reform process during the last 12 years in Indonesia. To this end, it will provide an
overview regarding the role of the Indonesian military during the Suharto era; analyse
to what extent the process of democratisation has shaped the role and mission of the
military; explore the perceptions and motivations of the actors involved in the reform
process; review what has been achieved; and highlight the outstanding issues that
remain unaddressed. With regard to the final point, this paper discerns three major
strategic gaps that undermine the processes of military reform in Indonesia, namely:
the “regulation loophole”, the “defence-economic gap” and the “shortcomings of
democratic civilian control”. Considering these problems, this paper concludes that
while the military officers’ interest in day-to-day politics will gradually diminish, the
military professionalism will ebb and flow depending more on the behaviour of
political elites and their attempts to address the major strategic gaps in the next stage
of the country’s military reform.