Indonesia in 2009: Electoral Contestation and Economic Resilience

Indonesia in 2009 witnessed the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to his second and final term in office. Rebounding from an all-time low in the opinion polls in mid-2008, Yudhoyono beat his opponents by initiating cleverly timed welfare programs for the poor and providing prudent leadership in the global economic crisis. Ten years after the end of autocratic rule, Indonesia has rather surprisingly established itself as Southeast Asia's most successful democracy