The post-authoritarian period provides the socio-economic and political context within which good governance and democratic institutional building have taken place in Indonesia. As strategic actors in governance processes, intellectuals have significant roles in such institutional-building. The book will uncover the socio-political role of intellectuals in East Java Province, especially Surabaya, by utilising a political economy and political
sociology analysis. The contribution of intellectuals to local governance processes and democratic politics in East Java is achieved not only through their roles as knowledge producers and disseminators but through their
actions as participants in the struggle over power and wealth, as members of electoral campaign teams, local government advisers as well as propagandists. East Java intellectuals eased into taking up these roles because
there had been no space for creating social bases for progressive forces in
civil society under New Order authoritarianism.