BOOK REVIEW FOR THE MID TERM ASSIGNMENT

IN BUSINEES & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Arranged by:

Name : Kusrian Edwin Sianipar

Student ID : 016201900201
Major : International Relations (IRE)
Class : French’1
Lecturer : Mr. M. Sigit Andhi Rahman,
Ph.D

Academic Year 2019-2020 / OOD Semester (20192)

 PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY HONOR PLEDGE

“I pledge to support the Honor System of President University. I will refrain from any
form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware
that as a member of the academic community, it is my responsibility to turn in all
suspected violators of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.”

“I affirm that this is our final report. It is not a working draft or a work in progress.”

Sincerly,

Jakarta, 28th October 2020

Kusrian Edwin Sianipar
Book Title: Partai Politik, Pemilihan
Umum dan Ketimpangan Sosial &
Ekonomi di Indonesia

Authors: International NGO Forum on

Indonesian Development (INFID) & LIPI

Years: 2014

INFID Research Report No. 3/2014

Link Podcast: https://anchor.fm/edwin-sianipar/episodes/Book-Review-eljg1p

About the Books

This book is the result of a series of reports/field analyzes on Political Parties,
General Elections, and the Issue of Social & Economic Inequality in Indonesia today.
At first glance, this book looks very simple which only contains critics of what
political parties have done in a democracy, and as we know that political parties are
one of the leading agents in the democratic process. And in each chapter of the
discussion, the chapter contains conclusions from different results of research studies
that have been carried out by the two institutions.
In short, this book is the result of the analysis of each report collected based on
interview data and field data from the 12 Political Parties. This book describes what
happens in political life, which is closely related to what ideology/goals these political
parties have done for the social-economic life of society. The research in this book is
also intended to see how so far political parties can work together to address issues of
inequality in Indonesia. The research results in this book are also based on data and
facts on how the actions/direction of each political Party in democracy in the field,
what strategies and political programs have been carried out and how they respond to
existing social-economic inequalities.
Book Synopsis
Political parties in their positions as pillars of democracy and as significant
players in the democratic process in the Indonesian state. Of course, the role played
by political parties themselves in the national political system is vital, how can
political parties become a vessel for selection in representing leadership in every line
of government. Experience in a series of holding national and regional leadership
selections through elections proves the success of political parties as pillars of
democracy. Regarding the problems/issues of imbalance that is happening amid
society, political parties must undoubtedly be able to answer the problems that are
currently happening. What is the floor for the capacity and performance of political
parties that need to be improved and reviewed? So, in this case, all of these will have
a significant effect on improving the quality of democracy and the performance of the
political system. Therefore, the role of political parties needs to be improved in terms
of capacity, quality and performance to realize the aspirations and will of the people
in improving the quality of democracy and to answer all the demands of the problems
of economic and non-economic inequality that are still happening massively in
Indonesia currently.

I.
This collaborative study conducted by P2P and INFID focuses on the position of
12 political parties (Democratic Party, Golkar, PDI-P, PKS, PPP, PKB, PAN,
Gerindra, Hanura, NasDem, PBB, and PKPI) participating in the 2014 General
Election. on issues of economic and non-economic (social) inequality. In this case, the
reports from each Party (12 Political Parties) on how their assumptions are in
addressing these issues are obtained from the data recap that has been done.
In this book review report, I can analyze the views and self-interests of each
political Party based on two different sides, as part of the problem and also part of the
solution. So far, political parties have not been able to complete the hopes and
demands of society in eliminating or even answering all the problems that are
happening in society today. The public often judges the majority of political parties
that they have not been able to become a representation of the community's platform
in presenting all policies/decisions that have a good impact on the level of people's
welfare. All forms of policies offered by the executive in responding to society's
needs regarding "inequality" are felt only to represent people who have interests
above the guidelines presented by the legislative members of each political party.

A. Results of research/questions based on perceptual data from each political

party in answering the issue of "Economic and Social Inequality".
Based on the results of the analysis of the reading of the data, I can describe that
each answer is obtained from each individual who represents each political party. In
general, a Political Party platform must be able to contain the basic principles adhered
to by the Political Party itself and then be implemented into the form of the Party's
ideology itself. What might be captured here is that each element/member of the
legislature from a political party has a responsibility in the demands of the Party's
Vision / Mission which it adheres to which is then implemented into the form of
policy-making to overcome the "inequality" problem.
Some political parties perceive the problem/issue of inequality as a severe
problem in the distribution of all aspects, especially economic and social aspects. This
is a severe problem, especially as inequality itself is a form of the absence of equality
of development (unequal development) in every region. Therefore, equitable
development in the economic and social aspects needs to be taken seriously. The goal
of sustainable economic growth is to reduce the existence of inequality. When the
problem of economic inequality occurs, the question of striking social inequality also
arises between groups of people themselves.
Overall, based on the assumptions of each political parties, it can be concluded
that in overcoming the problem of inequality itself, it is necessary to have harmony in
the democratic process. The concept of development carried out by political parties
means planned substantial changes in society through a decision-making process to
policies involving resources or elements in it. With this problem, political parties
should start to be proactive because political parties are a public expression in
determining and addressing issues or changes, in terms of economic and social
inequality in this case. If the legislative attitude is waiting, the public/society will
automatically judge that the attitude taken by the legislative member represents the
true nature of the political parties. At this time, real actions/policies of political parties
are needed in responding to the problem of current imbalances, and the public
increasingly understands the commitment of political parties to accommodate their
interests. This problem is directly related to the function of the political parties itself
as a means of communication in presenting policies. The role of political parties, in
this case, must be in favour of the community. Many of the political parties stated in
their official documents that they were concerned about the aspect of creating social
justice for all Indonesian people.

B. Methods and analysis carried out in the study

The method used in the research of this book is qualitative, which means that the
data resulting from this study are based on existing data & facts in the field. A recap
of the analysis in this book is based on the results of interviews and discussions with
several members from each of these parties. The unit of analysis is the Party which, as
a whole, is based on the data at the local level, which aims to support the study of the
implementation of the Party's policies and programs. The selection of research
locations in this book is based on the balance of representation in Java and outside
Java. The focus of the analysis carried out in areas outside Java is the DPW / DPD
domiciled in the provincial capital.
The development of the research instruments in this book is based on the
development of fundamental concepts done deductively, which is built by the study of
related literature. What is meant here is that before researchers collect analytical data,
they collect data from each Political Party first. The collection of data from each of
these political parties is compiled using the researcher reading the platform of the
twelve political parties from the official documents obtained by contacting the DPP
directly from 12 political parties in Jakarta, besides that they also download the
political party platform from their official political party website.
Field research to gather information with sources was carried out through
in-depth interviews by teams of researchers. This strengthens and sharpens the
knowledge obtained through literature review. Field studies carried out by researchers
in each location helped deepen the researchers' sense of the local context and its
influence on the characteristics and programs of the 12 Political Parties in the regions
on policies present in each area.

C. Conclusions relating to the IR problem

The conclusion that I can get from this book which is based on the results of
scientific studies in reading the contents of this book is that legislators from each
political party must cooperate by setting aside the goals of the party with the common
goal of presenting policies to alleviate the existing inequality problem. The need for
communication between members of the legislature to the public as a bridge. In this
book, it is also explained that each perception/view of the focus of the objectives of
each party is different. Therefore it is necessary to take concrete steps from each
legislative element in responding to the needs of the problems of economic and social
inequality issues in society today, to realize the sovereignty of the Indonesian people
and the 1945 Constitution as the leading formulation in presenting all pro-people
policies.