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9780521876483 - The Idea of Indonesia - A History - by R. E. Elson
Frontmatter/Prelims

The Idea of Indonesia

Indonesia the nation-state is a miraculous and unlikely construction. At first sight, the material for national unity could not be more unpromising: Indonesia’s history is marred by deep and often bloody internal disputation based on ideology, ethnicity, religion and region. Yet Indonesia, as concept and as nation-state, endures and is perhaps beginning once again to thrive. R. E. Elson, one of the leading figures in the field, seeks to discover the origins of the idea of Indonesia in the mid-nineteenth century and explores its often vexed and troubled trajectory through to the present time. He examines why Indonesia exists, against the odds, as a nation-state, and in what different forms it has existed, seeking to explain the nation’s character as it has struggled for unity and purpose. The analysis provides a chronological narrative which examines Indonesian politics, its political elites and their relationship with the Indonesian people.

R. E. ELSON is Professor of Southeast Asian History at the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, The University of Queensland, Australia. He has written extensively on the modern history of Indonesia and Southeast Asia and his previous publications include Suharto: A Political Biography (2001) and The End of the Peasantry in Southeast Asia: A Social and Economic History of Peasant Livelihood, 1800–1990s (1997).

The Idea of Indonesia:
A History

R. E. Elson

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© R. E. Elson 2008

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First published 2008

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Elson, R. E. (Robert Edward), 1947–
The Idea of Indonesia : a history / R. E. Elson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-521-87648-3
1. Indonesia – Politics and government. 2. Nationalism – Indonesia – History. I. Title.
DS638.E57 2008
959.8–dc22
2007052171

ISBN 978-0-521-87648-3 hardback

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websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

For Rosemary Robson-McKillop
dear friend, generous host and kind support over so many years

Contents

Illustrations

Glossary and abbreviations

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