The Pandemic as Political Opportunity: Jokowi’s Indonesia in the Time of Covid-19

Abstract

In mid-2021, the Delta strain of the Covid-19 virus caused a second wave of transmissions and deaths in Indonesia at a scale much greater than what was seen in 2020. In this paper, I examine what the Indonesian government’s handling of the Covid crisis in 2021 reveals about the priorities of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), as well as his political agenda and attitude towards the country’s democracy, as he strives to cement his legacy. I argue that, while devastating, the Covid-19 pandemic has given Jokowi the opportunity to push through long-planned economic and political reforms. Furthermore, I contend that, under the guise of promoting social and political stability in the time of Covid, Jokowi has also allowed for further democratic regression in Indonesia through laws that restrict freedom of speech and through the further empowerment of the military and intelligence agencies in civilian life. This paper ends with an examination of Jokowi’s persistently high popularity rating and the discourse surrounding the rumoured push for a constitutional reform that would allow for a third-term Jokowi presidency.