An Empirical Analysis of the Quality of Democracy in Asia: An Indonesian Case 1 Willy Purna Samadhi In January 2002, a conference on the democracy movement assigned a taskforce to carry out an academically sound nationwide survey that would facilitate the discussion of a fresh agenda for democratisation. The taskforce appointed a team of researchers and constituted DEMOS to support the research and follow up the results. The survey has been carried out in two rounds, in 2003 and 2004, and is based on a pioneering framework for the assessment of democracy from below. It combines the theories and experiences drawn from studies of rights and institutions and social and political movements. Extensive interviews were held out with around 800 experienced and reflective campaigners in all the provinces. These are not statistically selected respondents but carefully selected expert-informants. This would not have been possible without, first, close co-operation with pillars of the democracy movement and hundreds of experienced activists; second, support from Norwegian and Swedish public donors, the University of Oslo as well as the Ford and TIFA Foundations, TEMPO Magazine, the European Commission and others who have shared our concern and consistently respected the intellectual integrity of the team. Some eight hundred experienced and reflective democracy activists within fourteen issue- areas in thirty-two provinces have spent between four to six hours each answering three- hundred and thirty-three questions on thirteen key-variables of problems and options of meaningful HR-based democracy. The approach is new, and the result is the most comprehensive body of research-based information available on the topic thus far. Data analysis has generated four major conclusions and twenty-two proposals for further discussion and action. I. Democratic Deficit of Rights and Institutions Indonesia's democracy is not well under way nor 'irreversible'. There are basic freedoms but there is a severe deficit of the other instruments that are supposed to favour democracy. 1. Do not blame democracy for not solving the country's problems! The real problem is that the essential instruments of democracy are defunct. 2. Stop talking about democracy in general! The few instruments that are doing well must be defended and improved, not belittled or used to overshadow the main problems. 1 Presented in 2008 International Symposium by Democracy and Social Movements Institute of the Sungkonghoe University, Seoul. This paper is summarized from Demos’ Executive Report dated January 20, 2005, “Early Conclusions from the 1st and 2nd Round of the DEMOS National Survey on Problems and Options of Indonesian Democratisation”. Complete version of this paper can be downloaded from Demos website http://www.demosindonesia.org.