Demonstrations & Protests Against the Indonesian Government: Violence Flares Up

In fact, it became so intense that at least 10 people died. Most prominently featured in Indonesian media was the tragic death of 21-year-old ride hailing driver (locally called ojol) Affan Kurniawan who –when making a food delivery– was run over by a special armoured police vehicle at a protest in Jakarta on the evening of 28 August 2025.

It is important to zoom in on the reasons behind these demonstrations and violence that seem to have peaked in late-August 2025 (across Indonesia). One can imagine that in a society where most citizens are happy about their financial situations and are content with the performance of the government, chances are small that violent protests can suddenly flare up as they did in Indonesia. On the contrary, when there is simmering discontent in society, then that is when one can expect to see a sudden outburst of protests and violence. Therefore, before discussing developments that happened in late-August 2025, let’s first zoom out a bit to search for the root causes.

Complex Political Composition

From a political perspective, Indonesia is a complex country due to a combination of historical, systemic and social factors that developed since the nation's transition to democracy in 1998. Moreover, it is a huge Archipelago meaning that its enormous population is very diverse in terms of cultures, religion, and wealth.

Somehow, a united political framework has to be put over this diverse nature of the country. This is something the founding fathers (Soekarno and Hatta) also struggled with. Governing such a huge territory is an immense undertaking that is bound to be plagued with inefficiencies, logistical complexities, and feelings of injustice (as some regions are more developed than others, often due to historical developments such as being located closer to key trade routes, thus kingdoms/urban centers emerged).

Moreover, since the transition to decentralized democracy, there are layers of tough red tape (bureaucracy) that have been put over the country, while at the same time the various government institutions of Indonesia – both at the center and regions – encounter great difficulty in coordinating and cooperating.

Meanwhile, unlike the two-party system that is found in other countries, Indonesia has a proportional representation system that allows numerous political parties to gain seats in the parliament. And because it is rare for any single party to achieve a majority, a coalition government is needed to gain the required support to govern. The personal influence of powerful political figures, such as the party chairmen and other prominent leaders are often as important as the party's platform. These people play a crucial role in forming coalitions and they rely on networks and the loyalty of the people in those networks.

The latter is one of the key problems in Indonesian society. Quite often people obtain a position in the political (or corporate) domain because of networks (and loyalty) rather than merit. This is something society is aware of, and when one cannot benefit from this structure, personally, then it is typically loathed.

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