Fashioning Authoritarianism: Militarization of Society in Indonesia, 1930-1966

Joshua, Norman

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-d8wm-zn18

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Fashioning Authoritarianism: Militarization of Society in Indonesia, 1930-1966

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On March 11, 1966, Indonesian President Soekarno suddenly transferred executive power to the Army, which has played a role in the Indonesian state and society since the late 1950s. This act replaced Soekarno’s own government with a military dictatorship dubbed the New Order, which lasted for nearly 32 years. Why and how did the Indonesian military come to intervene in the state prior to the onset of military rule in 1965-1966? Furthermore, how did the experience of colonialism, war, and revolution contribute to this enduring influence of the military in the state? This dissertation argues that the Indonesian military gradually intervened in non-military affairs through actions that were ultimately justified through the historical development of legal emergency powers and counterinsurgency techniques during the 1950s-1960s, culminating in the establishment of a military regime in 1966. In explaining the origins of military authoritarianism, this dissertation contends that the process of militarization, which entails the normalization of violence in state and society is crucial in understanding the origins of authoritarianism. In Indonesia, militarization was most evident through two distinct but interrelated “logics” of governance, namely the logics of emergency and counterinsurgency. In tracing these two historical processes, this dissertation examines the history of Indonesian concepts of State of Emergency and counterinsurgency from the colonial period to the Guided Democracy (1959-1965). It was during Soekarno’s Guided Democracy that both logics converged, creating a state that was militarized, paving the way for the military takeover in 1965-1966.

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