Security, Democracy, and Society in Bali: Trouble with Protection

This book focuses on how diverse developments are reflected in the rise of the security groups in Bali, Indonesia. Bali’s security groups pose many interesting questions. Why did they put up so many huge posters around the streets of southern Bali promoting themselves?
Are their claims to represent the community plausible or are they “gangs”? How are they shaped by Indonesia’s violent past? How does Hinduism affect their gender politics? Do they promote illiberal populism or ethnic and religious tolerance? Does their central role in money politics prevent local democratization?

Rather than write bottom-up history or bring the state back in, this collection as a whole draws on the ideas that circulate among leaders. These circulating ideas construct contemporary politics around both reinterpretations of old practices and responses to problems around tourism, gender, populism, religion, and democracy.

Andrew Vandenberg is a senior lecturer in Politics and Policy Studies at Deakin University, Australia. He researches unionism, social movements, parties, and democratisation in Sweden, Australia, and Indonesia. His books include Democracy and Citizenship in a Global Era (Macmillan 2000), andEducation Policy and the Australian Education Union: Resisting Social Neoliberalism and Auditing Technology (2018).

Nazrina Zuryani is an Associate Dean in the Faculty of Social and Political Science, Udayana University. She researches parties, local government and local administration. Her publications include Akuntabilitas Partai Politik (Accountability and Party Politics) (2015) and Penduduk dan Pajak(Population and Tax) (2015), written with nationally competitive funding, a team of co-authors, and close collaboration with leaders of the local public service and the local political parties.