Indonesia

From the moment we began talking about nation-building in Southeast Asia, we all knew that Indonesia's story will be special and that Taufik Abdullah would have the toughest assignment in order to do that subject justice. This is not only because Indonesia covers the most land and water and has the largest population in the region, not even because it has the largest number of different sukubangsa (ethnic groups) each with its own ruling elites. It was also because the forces that projected a revolutionary ideal of nationhood also rejected the promise of order and stability offered by colonial state structures and insisted on providing the new republic with their own founding myths. Thus, although the origins of the Indonesian ideal may be dated half a century before 1945, the nation remained for a long time an indistinct word-image and, until after the Second World War, consisted only of a few bright outlines of future unity in the minds of a small intelligentsia.

The image was brought to life between 1945 and 1950 through proclamations of independence and the bloodshed that came from a series of revolutionary actions. These together served as the country's inspiration for Indonesia's first decade. Nevertheless, underlying the call for a people's revolution was the idea of a democratic modernity. The Angkatan ‘45 (Generation of 1945) that drew the first blueprint of nationhood had no doubts that the country would build the nation through democratic means. What had eluded them was the nature of democracy, something that had never been practiced when their lands were under Dutch or Japanese rule. It was also something that the military leaders who fought for their freedom were prepared ultimately to leave to the civilian leaders to define.

As it turned out, the first decade of experimentation ended in disarray and the country's first President, Sukarno, intervened with his idea of guided democracy. It was a fateful decision. Although he was unable to carry through his particular vision of presidential rule, he left that legacy for his successor. When the aborted Gestapu coup of 1965 brought about his downfall, it did not free the country from the “guided” structure of power that Sukarno had initiated.