SJS7 - Indonesia's Reform Era Faces a Test

Source:
Fealy, Greg. “Indonesia’s Reform Era Faces a Test.” Current History, vol. 107, no. 712, Nov. 2008, pp. 388-92.

Author Credentials:
Greg Fealy is a fellow of the College of Asia and the Pacific and a senior lecturer in Indonesian politics at the Australian National University.

Summary:
Generally speaking, this article is about the reform taking place in Indonesia since the authoritarian president stepped down. First of all, the election process has changed. Instead of staged elections, Indonesians can actually choose who they want to be president and who they want to run individual states. This has allowed for people to vote in honest people and get rid of corruption for the most part. At the same time, some of the corruption lingers. If powerful people want to stay in their current position, most of the time they are able to because they are favored by other people or have enough money to do so. Simultaneously, the country's government has gone through reform as well. Much of the power has been put into the hands of the states so that the government only controls a few things, such as foreign policy. In conclusion Indonesia's switch to democracy has been fairly facile, but still has a long way to go.

 Analysis:
In general, I feel that the author, Greg Fealy, displays both good and bad things about Indonesia's reform, but in the end supports the democracy with strong evidence. Because the author distinguishes between fact and opinion, I feel that he is a reliable source.