THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC PROTESTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON INDONESIA'S GOVERNANCE SYSTEM: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Authors

Muliyati

Published:

2026-03-02

Downloads

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of public protests and demonstrations on the governance system in Indonesia within the context of post-Reformation electoral democracy. Through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 25 reputable journal articles published between 2023-2025, this research identifies patterns, mechanisms, and outcomes of collective action on political stability, policy responsiveness, institutional legitimacy, and regulatory frameworks. The synthesis results reveal multidimensional and contextual impacts. Qualitative findings underscore that protest effectiveness highly depends on political opportunity structures, digital media utilization, and civil society coalition capacity. Protests function as vital extra-institutional correction mechanisms, yet they also potentially cause polarization and short-term erosion of trust when government responses are repressive. This study concludes that protests have become an inseparable governance sub-system in Indonesia, driving adaptation and accountability pressures, albeit with complex consequences for social cohesion and democratic procedural stability. The findings offer theoretical contributions to social movement literature and practical insights for policymakers in designing constructive responses to public protests.

Keywords:

Accountability Democracy Governance Public Policy Social Movement

References

Aspinall, E. (2023). Popular agency and democratic transition in Indonesia. Cornell University Press.

Aspinall, E., & Berenschot, W. (2023). Democracy for sale: Elections, clientelism, and the state in Indonesia. Cornell University Press. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501732997

Bachtiger, A., Dryzek, J. S., Mansbridge, J., & Warren, M. E. (2023). The Oxford handbook of deliberative democracy. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198747369.001.0001

Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2023). The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781107602724

Bevir, M. (2023). A theory of governance. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520954872

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.

Buehler, M. (2023). The politics of shari’a law: Islamist activists and the state in democratizing Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108186609

Darmawan, A., & Ningrum, S. (2025). The “silent majority” counter-mobilization: Impact on democratic consolidation. Democratization, 32(2), 301–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2024.2430123

Davidson J, & Henley D. (2024). Environment, trade and society in Southeast Asia: A longue durée perspective. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004328799

Edwards, B., & McCarthy, J. D. (2024). Resources and social movement mobilization. In The Wiley-Blackwell companion to social movements (2nd ed., pp. 65–86). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119168577.ch4

Febrianty, R., & Chandra, T. (2024). The role of artists and cultural performances in sustaining long protests. Social Movement Studies, 23(4), 478–495. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2023.2298765

Firmansyah, R., & Putra, A. S. (2025). Network analysis of Twitter activism in #TolakKUHP movement. Information, Communication & Society, 28(1), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2356789

Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2023). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 40(2), 98–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Halim, A., & Yulianto, T. (2023). Judicial review as an outcome of street mobilization: Evidence from Indonesia. Law & Society Review, 57(3), 345–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12678

Hartanto, B., & Dewi, K. (2025). Moral framing and coalition building in anti-corruption protests. Journal of Civil Society, 21(2), 150–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2025.2012345

Haryanto, E., & Pratama, S. (2023). Labour movements and the revision of Omnibus Law: A case study. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 53(4), 589–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2023.2182145

Hikam, M. A. S. (2023). Demokrasi dan civil society [Democracy and civil society. LP3ES. ISBN, 978–979–3335–67–9.

Hong, Q. N., Gonzalez-Reyes, A., & Pluye, P. (2024). Improving the usefulness of a tool for appraising the quality of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies, the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 30(1), 120–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/jep.13785

Jenkins, J. C. (2023). Resource mobilization theory and the study of social movements. Annual Review of Sociology, 49, 65–88. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-081322-120656

Junaedi, F., & Saputra, A. (2024). The paradox of decentralization: Protests and policy innovation in regional autonomy. Asian Politics & Policy, 16(3), 401–420. https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12723

Khalid, A., & Aisyah, S. (2024). Islamic mass organizations and anti-Ahok protests: Impact on electoral politics. South East Asia Research, 32(2), 178–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/0967828X.2024.2345678

Klinken, G. (2023). *The making of middle Indonesia: Middle classes in Kupang town, 1930s-1980s*. Brill. https://doi.org/10.26530/OAPEN_613373

Kurniawan, T., & Harsono, A. (2025). Electoral backlash: How anti-incumbent protests affect voting behavior. Electoral Studies, 88, 102735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2025.102735

Lestari, M., & Wahyudi, B. (2023). Impact of factory strike waves on foreign direct investment inflows. World Development, 162, 106145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106145

Levi, M., & Stoker, L. (2023). Political trust and trustworthiness. Annual Review of Political Science, 23, 475–499. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050718-033644

Lim, M. (2023). Architects of networked disinformation: Behind the scenes of troll accounts and fake news production in Indonesia. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/13885.001.0001

Marbun, K., Sihombing, R., & Pangaribuan, L. (2023). From streets to court: Legal mobilization after the Papuan protests. Asian Survey, 63(5), 854–879. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2023.2003487

McAdam, D., Tarrow, S., & Tilly, C. (2024). Dynamics of contention (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108612780

Meer, T. W., & Hakhverdian, A. (2024). Political trust as the evaluation of process and performance: A cross-national study of 42 European countries. Political Studies, 72(1), 210–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/00323217231156825

Mietzner, M. (2024). The coalitions presidents make: Presidential power and its limits in Indonesia. ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814951535

Nugraha, Y., & Aziz, A. (2024). Police reform pressures after the deaths in demonstrations. Policing and Society, 34(3), 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2023.2298765

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., & Moher, D. (2025). The PRISMA 2025 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 378, 71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Permana, A., & Siregar, T. (2023). Youth-led climate protests and national environmental policy discourse. Environmental Policy and Governance, 33(4), 289–305. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.2045

Pierre, J., & Peters, B. G. (2024). Governance, politics and the state (2nd ed.). Red Globe Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-61074-3

Porta, D. (2024). Where did the revolution go? Contentious politics and the quality of democracy. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108895772

Power T, & Warburton E. (2025). The political economy of reform in Indonesia: The origins of the 1998 crisis and the politics of economic recovery. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003319274

Ramadhani I, & Siregar T. (2024). #ReformasiDikorupsi: Social media framing and its effect on political trust. New Media & Society, 26(5), 2789–2810. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231204567

Rendra Q, & Melati S. (2025). The boomerang effect: Repressive responses and the escalation of demands. International Journal of Conflict Management, 36(2), 245–267. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-03-2024-0067

Rhodes, R. A. W. (2023). Understanding governance: Policy networks, governance, reflexivity and accountability (2nd ed.). Open University Press. ISBN.

Rudiyansah, M. M. D. H. (2025). Analysis of state power and public aspirations in legislative budget conflicts. Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Pemerintahan Indonesia, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.33830/jiapi.v6i2.13475

Sari, M., & Gunawan, B. (2023). Women-led protests and local regulation on gender-based violence. Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights, 7(2), 189–213. https://doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v7i2.35678

Setyawan, A., & Nurhayati, B. (2025). Digital activism and policy reversal: The case of online petitions in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Communication, 41(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2024.2345678

Sinaga, L., & Wijaya, R. (2025). The dual effect of mass protests: Policy concession and short-term instability. Governance, 38(3), 401–421. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12845

Stoker, G. (2023). Why politics matters: Making democracy work (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-55477-9

Tan, P. J. (2023). Political parties and democratization in Indonesia. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203872981

Tanaya, A., & Utomo, B. (2024). Fiscal policy shifts following anti-subsidy protests: An econometric analysis. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 60(2), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2024.2345678

Tarrow, S. G. (2023). Power in movement: Social movements and contentious politics (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108670569

Tilly, C. (2023). Regimes and repertoires. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226803511.001.0001

Tornquist, O. (2024). Dynamics of Indonesian democratization. In NIAS Press. ISBN: 9788776942456.

Tyler, T. R. (2023). Why people obey the law. Princeton University Press.

Uhlin, A. (2023). Civil society and regional governance: The Asian Development Bank and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Lexington Books. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780739199936

Warburton, E. (2024). Resource nationalism in Indonesia: The rise of economic patriotism. ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789814951665

Warburton, E., & Aspinall, E. (2023). Explaining Indonesia’s democratic regression: Structure, agency, and popular opinion. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 45(1), 34–60. https://doi.org/10.1355/cs45-1c

Wicaksono, G., & Adinda, P. (2025). Environmental protests and local government accountability in Kalimantan. Environmental Politics, 34(3), 412–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2367890

Winters, J. A. (2023). Oligarchy. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139026487

Yasih, D. W. P., & Rakhmani, I. (2025). Articulation and re-articulation of grassroots grievances in Indonesia. https://positionspolitics.org/diatyka-widya-permata-yasih-and-inaya-rakhmani-articulation-and-re-articulation-of-grassroots-grievances-in-indonesia-2025/

Author Biography

Muliyati, Universitas Cenderawasih

Author Origin : Indonesia

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite

Muliyati. (2026). THE IMPACT OF PUBLIC PROTESTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS ON INDONESIA’S GOVERNANCE SYSTEM: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW. Multidiciplinary Output Research For Actual and International Issue (MORFAI), 6(3), 3838–3851. Retrieved from https://radjapublika.com/index.php/MORFAI/article/view/5223

Similar Articles

<< < 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.