Publication

This paper examines the influence of social media in Indonesia in the run up to the country's 2014 presidential elections. It says that the more participatory climate that emerged since the end of the Suharto regime in 1998 has joined forces with social media, leading to an electorate with greater leverage over their choice of candidates. The authors also argue that elements of social media are gaining currency as mainstream indicators of the electability of candidates, while at the same time there has been a shift away from political parties being the focus of elections to the personality of the candidates.