131-223 Military and State in 20th Century Indonesia

Note

Available as 131-323 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

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Subject Description

This subject focuses on the increasingly important role of the military in Indonesia since the proclamation of independence, in the light of theories about the role of the military in politics. On completion of the subject students should be able to: test the applicability of theories of comparative politics about the political role of the military to the Indonesian historical experience in the 20th century; question whether a political system in which an army plays a prominent part is an aberration from an assumed norm; reflect upon whether justifications of certain practices in Indonesia in the name of culture or tradition might be rationalisations of the interests of those in power; reflect upon whether Australian criticisms of the role of the military in Indonesia in the name of universal human values might be ethnocentric or even projections of Australian feelings of guilt or fear.

Assessment

A 2000-word essay (40%), a 1000-word class paper (10%) and a 2-hour examination (50%), totalling not more than 5000 words.