Political parties are the core of democracy. That is why Clinton Rossiter argues that there is no America without democracy, no democracy without politics, and no politics without parties. In the Indonesian context, Executive Director of Indikator Politik Indonesia Burhanuddin Muhtadi, M.A., Ph.D. considers that political parties can also be part of the problem if the parties lack credibility, ideological differences between parties are less apparent, party institutions are weak, and there are many parties caught in a corruption case. In fact, national democracy will be achieved if the parties carry out their functions correctly.
To discuss this issue, Alumni Association (ILUNI) of Postgraduate School Universitas Indonesia (UI) in collaboration with the School of Strategic and Global Studies (SKSG) UI held a National Seminar entitled “Pelembagaan Partai dan Kepemimpinan Strategis Nasional” (Party Institutionalization and National Strategic Leadership”, on Thursday (26/1), at Hotel Savoy Homann, Bandung. On that occasion, a doctoral student of SKSG UI, Dr. Ir. Hasto Kristiyanto, M.M., discussed the need for an evaluation to see whether the work conducted by the parties was in accordance with the needs of society.
“The public gave positive responses as well as criticism regarding the parties’ intermediary function in building political communication and the role of the aggregation of people’s interests in making public policy. Those were still very lacking. However, the public also gives a depiction that the parties’ adaptation to changes is perceived as very important, followed by the party’s leadership, ideology, and organizational culture. Those are four things that are considered very important in party institutionalization,” said Dr. Hasto, who is also the General Secretary of Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP).
For the sustainability of an organization, long-term resilience is needed. Parties must have toughness, tenacity, and a dynamic attitude in dealing with VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) or ATHG (threats, challenges, obstacles, disturbances). The steps to foster party resilience were discussed by several speakers, including Head of the SKSG UI Doctoral Study Program Dr. Drs. A. Hanief Saha Ghafur, M.Sc.; Professor of the Faculty of Law UI Prof. Dr. Satya Arinanto, S.H., M.H.; Professor of Political Science and Security at Universitas Padjadjaran Prof. Muradi, M.A., Ph.D.; and Chief of Staff of National Air Operations Command, Marsekal Muda TNI Jorry Soleman Koloay, S.I.P.
There are two dimensions that connect voters and political parties, i.e. self-identification with the party (Party ID) and the evaluation of the mass of voters on the party’s intermediary function (rational dimension). Party ID is a psychological component that provides support for parties and party systems, which in turn strengthens democracy. Meanwhile, party intermediation is the evaluation of the mass of voters towards a political party whether it has functioned to connect the interests of the masses with government policies.
According to Prof. Muradi, the problem with the parties is that for 20 years the parties in Indonesia failed because they could not strengthen Party ID. So far, Party ID has only focused on three things, which are historical patterns, economic structure, and social stratification. In fact, most citizens vote for a party based on the figures in the party. However, if the voters only rely on figures, the party will disappear if a respected figure is no longer in it. Therefore, the party must also have an ideology.
“There are two important elements in the political party process, which are ideology and figure. If we only talk about figures, we will lose ideas in the context of building a political base. In fact, when a new civilization emerges, the parties need a leader. Therefore, Penta-Polics is needed, which is five important elements in the transformation of political parties which include ideology, figure, culture, regeneration, and acceleration,” said Prof. Muradi.
In addition to these five elements, the success of stability, resilience, and sustainability of political organizations can be achieved if the parties are able to build a dynamic and agile organization and build a solid team (dream team) that is responsive to the problems it faces. In addition, the parties must also be able to find and promote the best leaders through good recruitment and selection, and be able to regenerate party ideology according to the needs of the times.
Author: Sasa
