CONSTITUTION MAKING AND NATION-STATE IMAGINATION: A HISTORICAL COMPARISON, 1945-2002

In Indonesia’s history, the making of the constitutional foundation has been shaped by its political context. From the decolonization process till present, the making of the constitution has been intervened by various actors, both national and international parties. Hence, constitution changes are socially and politically complex. The complexities are represented in constitution-making governance, process, and its debates in the substantive drafting. This article focuses on how the constitution-making processes and its debates regarding issues of human rights and fundamental freedom have been contested since the very beginning of Indonesia’s independence, and how this debate provides answers to the causes, processes, substance, and implementation involved in Indonesia’s constitution making. It is clear in a comparative analysis, using Arato’s model, that the constitution making during the amendment period (1999-2002) is the best process that involved civil society and substantially more progressive. However, this argues that understanding the constitution-making would play important role in underpinning Indonesia’s nation state imagination.