Indonésie 2004. Le chevalier caché et la fin d'un monde

摘要

François Raillon, Centre national de la Recherche scientifique, Paris Indonésie 2004 : Le chevalier caché et la fin d'un monde 2004 was an intensive election year in Indonesia. After a complex general election held on April 5, a two-round presidential election witnessed the advent of general Yudhoyono as the new head of state. Elected by direct ballot for the first time in Indonesian history, the new president was a rather unexpected figure whose career had mostly unfurled during the former regime of general Soeharto. His success in capturing the presidency may be attributed to the people's high expectations after the protracted crisis that has affected Indonesia since Soeharto' s fall. It was also due to Yudhoyono' s ability to appear as the "hidden knight", or a heaven-sanctioned saviour according to Javanese folklore. As Yudhoyono had hardly started his presidency, an earthshake and tsunami of unprecedented magnitude hit the province of Aceh (and various countries of the Indian ocean), causing the death of hundreds of thousands of Achinese. The author analyses the impact of the formally democratic elections on the exercise of power in Indonesia, and the way the local polity and society reacted to the end-of-the-year disaster.