Project at HIAS
Leftist Politics in Democratizing Indonesia
Abdil Mudhoffir’s HIAS project addresses the question of why the leftist element of civil society in Indonesia remains marginalized even after two decades of democratization that have ostensibly created a more open political landscape. It investigates the factors that hinder their consolidation, both related to organizational capacity and the socio-political structures. Specifically, it analyses the extent to which Indonesia’s recent democratic decline correlates with the continued absence of an organized left. It is argued that the legacies of the 1965 communist massacres in Indonesia have significantly weakened the organizational capacity of leftist elements of civil society, leading to persistent fragmentation and internal conflicts. This has given rise to liberal middle-class reformism, which exhibits limitations in its capacity to effectively confront anti-democratic forces, contributing to an observable democratic decline.
His Tandem Partner is Patrick Köllner, Professor of Political Science at the University of Hamburg, and Vice President of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA).
Website
Funding
The HIAS Fellowship is provided by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the federal and state funds acquired by the University of Hamburg in the framework of its Excellence Strategy.
Tandem
Prof. Dr. Patrick Köllner, Political Science, University of Hamburg, Vice President, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
Biography
Abdil Mughis Mudhoffir is an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow at the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies, Hamburg and an honorary fellow of the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia. Previously, he served as subject coordinator in Asian Studies and Indonesian Studies at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, and as lecturer at the Department of Sociology, State University of Jakarta, Indonesia. He received his PhD degree in politics from the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne. His book entitled ‘State of Disorder: Privatised Violence and the State in Indonesia’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) was shortlisted for the 2022 EUROSEAS Social Science Book Prize.
Abdil Mudhoffir’s research interests include civil society movements, democracy, the sociology of violence, Islamist politics and capitalist development.
Abdil Mudhoffir’s GIGA-HIAS Fellowship is provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the federal and state funds acquired by the University of Hamburg in the framework of its Excellence Strategy.
Image Information
The picture captures the May Day strike in 2025, organised by several left-wing trade unions in Jakarta, Indonesia. This photo was taken by Rafiqa Qurrata A’yun, assistant professor of criminal law at the University of Indonesia.