The 2017 Pilkada (Local Elections) in Indonesia: Clientelism, Programmatic Politics and Social Networks

The articles in this special issue of Contemporary Southeast Asia a close look at seven local elections which were held in locations in Indonesia — from the city of Jayapura in in the far southeast, to the district of North Aceh in the — in February 2017. Most of the articles drill down the micropolitics of electoral competition in one location, one of them comparing two regions. By doing so, they aim simply to add to what is already a large case-study literature local elections in Indonesia, but to contribute fresh insights the underlying logic of electoral competition in such races, and pinpoint emerging trends in Indonesian politics. Above all, they the inventiveness of Indonesian political candidates, and their ability to combine widely varying political networks, social , sources of financial, social and political capital and styles when running for office