Since 2004, Indonesia’s new Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has spearheaded the country’s fight against corruption. It has done so much more effectively than previous attempts and more successfully than comparative studies about anti-corruption agencies would lead one to expect. This presentation focuses on the most prominent element of this success, enforcement, and resistance to it. What distinguishes the KPK’s performance from that of Indonesia’s other law enforcement agencies, in particular the Attorney General’s Office?

In a context of endemic corruption, and in the absence of any general amnesty for past offences, there are also interests to rein in the KPK. The presentation will thus focus on two further questions: What have been the main forms of resistance towards the KPK and to what effect? It will be argued that the petitions brought to the Constitutional Court and consequent legislative changes pose a bigger long-term challenge for the KPK than the recent attacks on its leadership.