Guided Democracy

Guided Democracy was a political system introduced in Indonesia by President Sukarno in 1957. He criticized Western liberal democracy as unsuitable for Indonesia, proposing a system based on Indigenous Indonesian traditions of deliberation (musyawarah) and consensus (mufakat). This system aimed to create a national consensus through a council representing various functional groups, guided by the president.1

During this period, Sukarno's power grew, often maintained by balancing the army and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI). His policies focused on national unity and identity, sometimes at the expense of economic stability, leading to issues like foreign debt and inflation. In foreign policy, Indonesia adopted a neutralist stance and asserted leadership among developing nations. A significant achievement was the successful campaign to incorporate West New Guinea (Irian Barat) into Indonesia.2