Benedict R. O'g. Anderson

Old State, New Society: Indonesia's New Order in Comparative Historical Perspective

The author of this article argues that the paradox of postcolonial states pursuing internal and external policies remarkably similar to those of their colonial predecessors, despite the passage from colonialism to independence, is best resolved by focusing on the distinct, long-standing, institutional interests of the state-qua-state. It is these interests that make explicable the key policies of Suhartos New Order toward economic development, the Chinese minority, participatory organizations, and internal and external security. The author analyzes the nature and growth of the Dutch colonial state, its decline and near-collapse between 1942 (Japanese invasion) and 1965 (downfall of Sukarnos Guided Democracy), and its revival under ex-colonial sergeant Suharto.

Bung Karno and the Fossilization of Soekarno's Thought

Not long after Bung Karno died [June 21, 1970], I received a letter from a friend. He had been enraged with the Great Leader of the Revolution, and had actively resisted Guided Democracy because he felt that both institutions were authoritarian, had ruined the Indonesian economy, had further impoverished the little man, and had given the Indonesian Communist Party the green light. But in the letter he told me how astonished he had been when, watching Bung Karnos funeral cortege passing solemnly along the main streets of Jakarta, he had suddenly broken down into sobs. My friend did not explain why these tears poured down his cheeks. But I suspected that deep down he loved Bung Karno while at the same time was bitterly disappointed by all that he had done wrong.

In search of the lost Eden — the historiography of the Philippine peasant

Wang Gungwu, Community and Nation: Essays on Southeast Asia and the Chinese. Asian Studies Association of Australia Southeast Asia Publications Series No.6. Heinemann Educational Books, Singapore, 1981. ix + 292pp. Preface, abbreviations, index. Cloth:

The Spectre of Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia, and the World

24.95. Paper:

Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia

12.95. J.A.C. Mackie, ed., Indonesia: The Making of a Nation. Vol. 3, Indonesia: Australian Perspective. Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, 1980. 271 pp. Preface, abbreviations, introduction, n.p.g.