Role Model for the US: Indonesia

Dr. Ann Marie Murphy, Seton Hall Univ. | October 27, 2008

With much attention being paid to the US elections, it's time people started to notice the elections in Indonesia, a nation that "clearly refutes the proposition that democracy and Islam are incompatible." ++ Since 1998 – the year a coup ended three decades of authoritarianism – the country has undergone remarkable change for the better. ++ A thriving civil society must do more to alleviate the most pressing needs: poverty reduction; infrastructure investment; a secure regulatory and legal environment; and fighting corruption and terrorism.