Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Political observer from Andalas University Asrinaldi caught the satire code for the authorities behind the photo of the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan read a book called How Democracies Die.
According to him, the satire becomes relevant if the message Anies wants to take from the book How Democracies Die is related to democracy in the hands of an authoritarian figure who has turned into a terrifying force and a tool to strengthen power.
“If that is the message Anies wants to take, it is clear to me that it is an insinuation that the rise of power, our rulers with the issue of populism and so on, but after they take office, the democracy is silenced, freedom no longer exists. The message is perhaps symbolically a satire to the authorities,” he said. Asrinaldi told CNNIndonesia.com, Sunday (22/11).
How Democracies Die is a book by a political scientist who graduated from Harvard University, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblat, which was published on January 16, 2018.
The book, which is known to be 380 pages thick, describes how an elected leader has the resources and access to change the democratic process to slowly strengthen the grip of power in society.
Asrinaldi assessed that Anies’ step in uploading the photo did not mean that he was targeting President Joko Widodo. According to him, the ruling element in government in Indonesia does not only consist of Jokowi as president.
“We know that the power of our government has an oligarchy, not only Jokowi. So that the message is directly to the oligarchs,” he said.
Anies has recently been in the spotlight because he could not prevent the crowds of Rizieq Shihab in Petamburan. Anies was called by the police to clarify activities that violated the health protocol.
Asrinaldi considered that the attitude of the central government in responding to Anies’ policy after Rizieq returned from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia was excessive. According to him, the central government is like Anies’s fear of getting support in the form of a trump card to run as a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
According to him, the attitude of the central government should not be that way considering that the 2024 Presidential Election is still long.
“Excessive and too blow up, a kind of phobia of erratic fear, as if with Anies’s closeness, Anies can get support, get a trump card to run for president. Too fast, everything can change, “said Asrinaldi.
Anies posted a photo reading the book How Democracies Die on his Instagram account, @aniesbaswedan.
The book describes how various branches of government in a system with a separation of powers get legitimacy to weaken other groups or the opposition.
‘How Democracies Die’ is known to have been created to examine the dynamics of domestic politics in the 2016 United States Presidential Election, as well as the political dynamics during President Donald Trump’s administration.
(mts/gil)
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