The Opposition in Indonesia: Institutional Alternatives for Change,
Abstract
The author concludes that, on balance, the New Order probably needs to be judged in rather better health than supposed. That health, furthermore, seems to be based on a curious phenomenon for a military/bureaucratic state --i.e., a consensus which exhibits breadth and flexibility, and yet is at the same time structured along patrimonial-populist lines. Does it--will it-all work? At present it looks as if the best answer is 'yes' as long as we don't make the mistake of judging the outcome solely on our own terms. He believes that there is even rather ample room for Western opinion influencing this particular Order, given its nature internally and its sensitivity to its world reputation as a civilized, modern, and respectable state in the family of nations. Human rights (though not precisely as the are understood in the United States) and basic needs economic development planning (though not entirely as Western formulations would have it) are strains of thinking that have already attracted a great deal of interest and are part of public discussion. But the way in which these and other subjects are promoted by outsiders will have to follow the contours of the Order and its underlying consensus, not because the government requires it but because that is what is likely to work most effectively.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA102580
Entities
People
- William H. Frederick
Organizations
- foreign affairs ministry