Publication

This study examines the contest between the presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo in Indonesia’s 2014 presidential elections and what it demonstrates about the conditions under which populist campaigns are launched and succeed or fail. The authors suggest that their findings show that Prabowo's campaign was ultimately defeated because it did not suit the conditions present in Indonesia at the time as the country was not in a state of acute crisis. They also examine some of the challenges that Joko Widodo had in establishing his role following his inauguration as president due to the approach to governance that results from his form of populism.