The Political Impact of New Information Sources and Technologies in Indonesia

Abstract

This article focuses on the explosion of international media coverage of Indonesia and the role of the Internet as two major factors in the unfolding of Indonesian politics at home and abroad during the last years of the New Order. Both international media coverage of Indonesia and the Internet had their primary impact at the level of elite politics, with the effect on the remainder of society being highly mediated by the local elites and the domestic mass media. The Internet served not only as a source of information, but also as a tool for activism and coordination among an increasingly disenchanted opposition.