The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia

ISBN-13: 9789793780450 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 644 str.

Herbert Feith

Opis

This is an intensive study of Indonesian politics from the attainment offull independence in December 1949 to the proclamation of martial law inMarch 1957, and President Soekarnos subsequent establishment of "guideddemocracy". It is intended as a contribution to the ongoing discussion ofdemocracy in the new states of Asia and Africa, of the ways in which Westernpolitical institutions are transformed when employed in non-Western socialsettings, and of the obstacles to be overcome if such institutions are tooperate in consonance with the authority systems of new nations and withtheir solution of economic and administrative problems.Now brought back into print as a member of Equinox Publishings ClassicIndonesia series, The Decline of Constitutional Democracy is considered to bethe definitive study of Indonesia in the 1950s and will be of great interestto the growing number of social scientists concerned with the pre-industrialnations and in particular with their efforts to use and adapt Western politicalinstitutions. This is a solid and scholarly account, but, writing on the basis of much personal observation, Dr. Feith manages to present his material in sucha way that readers with no previous background in the subject will be able tofollow the book almost as easily as will specialists.HERBERT FEITH (1930-2001) became familiar with Indonesia during1951-53 and 1954-56 when he was an English Language Assistant with theMinistry of Information of the Republic of Indonesia. A citizen of Australia,he received an M.A. degree from the University of Melbourne in 1955 anda Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1961. He was a Research Fellow in theDepartment of Pacific History, Australian National University, from 1960to 1962 and was Chair of Politics at Monash University from 1968 until 1974.