You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Born with motor impairment, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja grew up with low self-esteem. Yet, within this awkward, shy boy lay a steely resolve to overcome his weaknesses. It was this same resolve that propelled him to study at high school in the United Kingdom, thousands of miles from his native land. Navigating life on his own in the UK forged Sarwono into an independent and resilient individual; one who never flinched in the face of challenges, but also one who never wanted to play the hero either. His unique character and integrity acted like a magnet for opportunities back home in Indonesia. He was chosen to be Chairman of the University Student Council of the Bandung Institute of Technology even though he did not campaign for it. And when he made it into the national parliament, it was at the behest of the military. He then became Secretary General of Golkar, the country’s ruling party, without having to pull any strings. In taking on all the opportunities that came his way, Sarwono remained true to himself, which later meant saying no to President Soeharto when the latter tried to recruit him to be part of his inner circle.
This book explores the political and ideological motivations behind the formation of the Nahdlatul Ulama-affiliated political party, and Abdurrahman Wahid's rise to the Presidency of Indonesia after having led NU for 15 years away from formal politics. It sheds light on the complex and historical rivalries within Islam in Indonesia, and how those relationships inform and explain political alliances and manoeuvres in contemporary Indonesia.
This book is a succinct and critical account on the shariatisation of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world. It is the first book in English to uncover and explain the shariatisation of Indonesia in a comprehensive way. With the abundant primary and secondary sources, this book is a reference for other scholars who conduct research on the inclusion of sharia into legal and public sphere of Indonesia. It comes with an important conclusion that the change of such a non-theocratic state like Indonesia into a theocratic state is highly possible when its law is penetrated by those who want to change the state system.
First published in 2004. This text examines the politics of Islam and the state of Indonesia over recent decades, during which time there has been a notable resurgence of Islamic political movements. It argues that after the state had consistently worked to restrict and exclude political Islam from power, in the late 1980s and 1990s there was a change whereby Suharto courted the support, and began to incorporate, Muslim interests within the political system.
"Because the military is an integral part of Indonesia's power structure, it is of interest to anyone studying Indonesian affairs. This volume is the first study to address the role of the military in post-Soeharto Indonesia. The author is a former ghostwriter at the Indonesian Ministries of Home Affairs and Defence. He is privy to the internal dynamics of the military and has personally interviewed such untouchable figures as former President Soeharto. As such, this is an up-to-date, well-informed study providing a useful contribution to the literature, particularly with regard to the younger generation of the military."--BOOK JACKET.
Motivated by on-the-ground experiences during Indonesia's period of political turmoil in the early 2000s following the collapse of the Suharto regime, this book systematically explains the structure of the Suharto regime while revealing its political dynamism. The primary goal is to account for the transformations that Suharto's personal rule underwent during 30 years in power and explain its end. The book focuses on the 'personal rule system' that Suharto employed, analyzing its transition and collapse in a groundbreaking thesis that draws on archival materials from major political institutions, as well as interviews with some of the key political protagonists. The concept 'co-opting type personal rule' is proposed to address the following questions: What concept can best capture the Suharto regime and the diverse array of personal rule systems and better explain the characteristics of each type? How can we analyze personal rule regimes that end in relatively peaceful transitions rather than revolution or violent coup? Thesis. (Series: Kyoto Area Studies on Asia - Vol. 24) [Subject: Asian Studies, Indonesian Studies, Politics]
Despite its overwhelmingly Muslim majority, Indonesia has always been seen as exceptional for its diversity and pluralism. In recent years, however, there has been a rise in "majoritarianism", with resurgent Islamist groups pushing hard to impose conservative values on public life – in many cases with considerable success. This has sparked growing fears for the future of basic human rights, and, in particular, the rights of women and sexual and ethnic minority groups. There have, in fact, been more prosecutions of unorthodox religious groups since the fall of Soeharto in 1998 than there were under the three decades of his authoritarian rule. Some Indonesians even feel that the pluralism th...
Based on a decade of research in Indonesia, this book provides an in-depth account of the military's struggle to adapt to the new democratic system after the downfall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in 1998. Unlike other studies of the Indonesian armed forces, which focus exclusively on internal military developments, Mietzner's study emphasizes the importance of conflicts among civilians in determining the extent of military involvement in political affairs. Analysing disputes between Indonesia's main Muslim groups, Mietzner argues that their intense rivalry between 1998 and 2004 allowed the military to extend its engagement in politics and protect its institutional interests. The stabilization of the civilian polity after 2004, in contrast, has led to an increasing marginalization of the armed forces from the power centre. Drawing broader conclusions from these events for Indonesia's ongoing process of democratic consolidation, the book shows that the future role of the armed forces in politics will largely depend on the ability of civilian leaders to maintain functioning democratic institutions and procedures.
How did democracy became entrenched in the world's largest Muslim-majority country? After the fall of its authoritarian regime in 1998, Indonesia pursued an unusual course of democratization. It was insider-dominated and gradualist and it involved free elections before a lengthy process of constitutional reform. At the end of the process, Indonesia's amended constitution was essentially a new and thoroughly democratic document. By proceeding as they did, the Indonesians averted the conflict that would have arisen between adherents of the old constitution and proponents of radical, immediate reform. Donald L. Horowitz documents the decisions that gave rise to this distinctive constitutional process. He then traces the effects of the new institutions on Indonesian politics and discusses their shortcomings and their achievements in steering Indonesia away from the dangers of polarization and violence. He also examines the Indonesian story in the context of comparative experience with constitutional design and intergroup conflict.
Understanding and managing inter-religious relations, particularly between Muslims and Christians, presents a challenge for states around the world. This book investigates legal disputes between religious communities in the world’s largest majority-Muslim, democratic country, Indonesia. It considers how the interaction between state and religion has influenced relations between religious communities in the transition to democracy. The book presents original case studies based on empirical field research of court disputes in West Java, a majority-Muslim province with a history of radical Islam. These include criminal court cases, as well as cases of judicial review, relating to disputes con...