Power, Conflict and Democracy: the Analytical Framework

The point of departure for the Power, Conflict and Democracy Programme (PCD) is the critique of the two conventional explanations for the problems of democratisation in the global South for being empirically mistaken and based on narrow and static theory.2 We argue that the root causes for the crisis of democratisation are neither poor application of the mainstream model (emphasising elitist pacts and institution-building in return for more privatisation and self management), nor that democracy is premature due the lack of sufficient preconditions. Rather, the more fundamental dilemma is the depoliticisation of democracy and the fact that the paradigms are unable to conceptualise the problems and options involved. This inability is because the proponents of both the dominant arguments agree on a narrow definition of democracy in terms of freedoms and fair elections – and then either neglect the basic conditions or say they have to be created beforehand by other means. The result is that both paradigms exclude by definition approaches that focus less on democratic rules of the game in themselves and more on how these institutions may be used and expanded in favour of improved social, economic and other conditions. Given that such social democratic oriented paths have been quite important, especially in the transition of the previously poor Scandinavian countries into welfare states, and that adapted versions are now gaining ground in paradigmatic cases such as Brazil, there is an obvious need to widen the perspective

Research-based Democracy Promotion; Lesson From Indonesia

This article summarises and reflects a more extensive analysis about the experiences of attempts to develop and apply analytical tools to comprehend the transformation of Indonesian democracy over 15 years. Such attempts can be retrospectively classified into four phases: (1) conducted in the mid-1990s to the fall of Soeharto in May 1998 by focusing on the anti-Soeharto democracy actors; (2) participatory case studies of the post-Soeharto democracy movement; (3) the development of an alternative framework for national surveys of the problems and options of democratisation from below that began in 2003; (4) institutionalisation of the previous surveys and case studies of power and democracy. These prolonged experiences have opened up the possibilities for academics and practitioners to develop and apply an alternative framework for a less elitist and more inclusive model of democracy in Indonesia

Muslim Politics and Democracy: the Case of Indonesia

This article tries to scrutinize the complexity of dealing with the attempts at crafting democracy in In­donesia. It relates the issue of deploying religion among Muslim actors with the issue of state-market power-relations. With regard to the failing attempts of democra­tization, the writer argues that the problem does not lie with religion and Islam as such, but with demo­cratisation that has run aground for a number of reasons. The real challenge is to develop more independent means of political representation. In his opinion, quoting Demos' survey, the major task in the country at large is to build popularly rooted and representative civic-political orga­nisations. He goes on to argue that while Muslim po­litics may promote measures against corruption, and neo-liberal actors may foster the rule of the laws they have shaped, both tendencies neglect independent popular repre­sen­tation to promote politically equal control of public affairs

Has Democracy Stalled in Indonesia?

Indonesia, after India and the United States of America, is the third largest, albeit fledgling, democracy in the world, and the largest among the new ones. Its re-emergence at the time of the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998 remains an historical opportunity of major proportions. Should this emerging democracy stabilize and become meaningful for the people at large, it would not only be of direct importance to hundreds of millions of disempowered citizens but also a milestone for human rights and democracy in general. What are the problems and options involved? First the historical lessons. While the ideas concerning human rights and democracy originated in the West, it was not the West but sections of the anti-colonial liberation movement (with a majority of Muslims involved) that brought human rights and democracy to Indonesia. Further, one needs to question the ideological thesis of the authoritarian rule that earlier efforts during the 1950s to introduce liberal democracy were abandoned since the country was ‘not modern enough' for democracy. In reality, the major problems were that the small, West-oriented middle class failed to generate popular support and opted instead for enlightened technocracy (spearheaded by the Socialist Party), and that the electorally more successful political parties (the nationalists, the two Muslim blocs and the Communists) were more concerned with positioning themselves within the framework of the externally imposed Cold War than with democracy

Autocatalytic amplification of Alzheimer-associated Aβ42 peptide aggregation in human cerebrospinal fluid

Alzheimer’s disease is linked to amyloid β (Aβ) peptide aggregation in the brain, and a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanism of Aβ aggregation may lead to improved diagnostics and therapeutics. While previous studies have been performed in pure buffer, we approach the mechanism in vivo using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We investigated the aggregation mechanism of Aβ42 in human CSF through kinetic experiments at several Aβ42 monomer concentrations (0.8–10 µM). The data were subjected to global kinetic analysis and found consistent with an aggregation mechanism involving secondary nucleation of monomers on the fibril surface. A mechanism only including primary nucleation was ruled out. We find that the aggregation process is composed of the same microscopic steps in CSF as in pure buffer, but the rate constant of secondary nucleation is decreased. Most importantly, the autocatalytic amplification of aggregate number through catalysis on the fibril surface is prevalent also in CSF

Demokrasi di Atas Pasir: Kemajuan dan Kemunduran Demokratisasi di Indonesia

Buku ini didasarkan atas survei yang menunjukkan bahwa demokrasi Indonesia, selain memperlihatkan kemajuan-kemajuan juga memperlihatkan beberapa kemunduran. Adalah benar bahwa rakyat yang sudah bebeas menggunakan hak suara mereka dalam pemilu, akan tetapi kaum perempuan (yang kebanyakan tidak memiliki jaringan yang bagus), kaum miskin dan kelompok marjinal, secara de facto terhalang untuk maju sebagai kandidat dan bahkan kadangkala untuk memilih. Upaya untuk mengembangkan representasi popular menjadi terhambat. Isu-isu mendasar seperti persamaan hak-hak sipil dan politik, serta pemenuhan hak-hak sosial, ekonomi, dan budaya juga menghadapi tantangan serupa. Oleh karena itu, ada kebutuhan mendesak untuk mengembangkan blok politik demokratis yang terorganisasikan dengan baik dan tidak didominasi atau dipengaruhi oleh partai. Upaya ini perlu dilakukan untuk mengingkatkan pengaruh masyarakat (demos) yang independen ke dalam aktivitas-aktivitas politik yang terorganisir; untuk mengubah relasi-relasi kekuasaan yang ada melalui representasi dan partisipasi yang lebih merakyat; untuk meningkatkan posisi-tawar yang mengarahkan pada tercapainya kompromi-kompromi yang lebih baik untuk pembangunan berkelanjutan berdasarkan prinsip-prinsip hak asasi manusia

Mechanism of Pion Production in alphaalphap Scattering at 1 GeV/nucleon

The one-pion and two-pion production in the p(alpha, alpha prime)X reaction at an energy of E{alpha} = 4.2 GeV has been studied by simultaneous registration of the scattered alpha particles and the secondary pion or proton. The obtained results demonstrate that the inelastic alpha-particle scattering on the proton at the energy of the experiment proceeds either through excitation and decay of Delta resonance in the projectile or through excitation in the target proton of the Roper resonance, which decays mainly on a nucleon and a pion or a nucleon and a sigma meson - system of two pions in the isospin I = 0, S-wave.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Proceedings of the XX International Baldin Seminar on High - Energy Physics Problems, Dubna, October 4 - 9, 201