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Dr. Ehito Kimura is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. His research interests lie at the nexus of political change and Southeast Asian politics. His doctoral dissertation and subsequent book manuscript entitled “Provincial Proliferation: Territorial Politics in Post-Suharto Indonesia” (Routledge 2012) explores the changing dynamics of territoriality after the fall of authoritarianism and the rise of democracy and decentralization in Indonesia. He has also written several articles about political change and democratic transition in Indonesia. More recently, he has been working on a project looking at transitional justice in Indonesia in comparative perspective.
The Problem of Transitional Justice in Post-Suharto Indonesia
Transitional justice in Indonesia has largely failed. While exact definitions vary, transitional justice here refers loosely to the righting of past wrongs by holding perpetrators accountable for their actions. In Indonesia, neither Suharto nor any of the high-ranking officials of the New Order era have ever been put on trial or held accountable for human rights abuses during 32 years of authoritarian rule. In fact, no Indonesian has been successfully convicted for past abuses despite numerous attempts to do so.
