Guided Democracy in Indonesia

Guided Democracy (Indonesian: Demokrasi Terpimpin), also called the Old Order (Indonesian: Orde Lama), was the political system in place in Indonesia from 1959 until the New Order began in 1966. This period followed the dissolution of the liberal democracy period in Indonesia by President Sukarno, who centralized control in the name of political stability. He claimed to have based the system on the traditional village system of protracted discussion and consensus, which occurred under the guidance of village elders. He envisioned himself as president playing the role of the village elders at the national level, arguing that a national consensus could express itself under presidential guidance.