A Country in Despair: Indonesia Between 1997 and 2000. By Kees van Dijk. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002. 630 pp. $33.00 (paper).
By Paige Johnson Tan
Book review published in the February 2003 issue of the Journal of Asian Studies.
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The title of Kees van Dijk’s book is apt. While many in the West have focused on the “euphoria” of Indonesia’s transition from authoritarian rule, for many Indonesians, the past several years have been a time of uncertainty, fear, violence, and, as van Dijk points out, “despair.”
Van Dijk’s treatment joins Stefan Eklof’s Indonesian Politics in Crisis (Copenhagen: NIAS, 1999) and Richard Mann’s Fight for Democracy in Indonesia (Singapore: Gateway Books, 1999) in cataloguing the ups-and-downs of the period surrounding Suharto’s fall. Van Dijk is able to go further, with the passage of time, to examine the administrations of Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid as well.
Van Dijk’s knowledge of the daily to-and-fro of Indonesian politics and developments in the economy shines through as he marshals tremendous detail in describing the 1997 elections, the rise of the anti-Suharto forces and the economic crisis, the long-serving leader’s fall, and political and economic developments since. The author’s thorough understanding enables him to pepper his account with gems on Indonesian politics. Particularly noteworthy are treatments throughout the book on the backgrounds of Indonesia’s political actors; the details of some of these may even have eluded long-time specialists.
Unusual among academic treatments, the book also has numerous photo illustrations, some private and some from the Indonesian media, bringing the drama of the unfolding events to life for the reader. The material in the book generally relies on Indonesian sources, both periodicals and scholarly treatments. Appendices offer useful information on cabinet personnel from 1993-2000 and military personnel occupying key positions since the 1980s.
The book is most suited to specialists in Indonesian politics or those with some knowledge of the events covered. Without this background knowledge, the weight of detail and assiduous research presented might overwhelm the casual reader. Specialists might find especially interesting the coverage of Indonesia’s successive deals with the International Monetary Fund, including the best analysis this reader has seen of the famous photo of the Fund’s Michel Camdessus glowering over Suharto as the latter signs on to more IMF stipulations in January 1998 (p. 105). Also valuable is the coverage throughout the book on the business interests and wealth of Suharto and his family (especially Chapter XI on KKN [collusion, corruption, and nepotism] and Chapter XII on Suharto’s wealth). Specialists will also enjoy van Dijk’s occasional treatment of rumors as real political currency throughout the book.
Those with interests in particular facets of the period will find useful information in Chapters III to VIII which describe the events leading up to Suharto’s fall, including both political and economic developments. Chapter XIII introduces the new political parties which have risen since Suharto’s fall. Chapters XV, XVI, and XIX cover violence in the regions and separatism.
The book is a boon to scholars of transitions from authoritarian rule who may not have the Indonesian language skills to analyze day-to-day developments and access the Indonesian case for use in comparative work. Chapters VIII to XX deal with the administrations of Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. Of special note is van Dijk’s treatment of the search for justice for past atrocities during the transition period. As the author points out, few wrongdoers have been brought to justice. In cases like Trisakti, Semanggi, Aceh, Tanjung Priok, Lampung, and the attack on the PDI headquarters, few, if any, individuals concerned have been punished; those that have been punished have generally been low-ranking individuals, and they have been merely slapped on the wrist. In contrast, many individuals prominent in these cases, like Hendropriyono and Sutiyoso, continue to occupy prominent political positions. The case of Suharto son-in-law Prabowo Subianto makes clear, though, that it has been possible to deal with those accused of wrongdoing expeditiously when the political will exists to do so (p. 245).
The level of detail in the book is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness. In the two-page preface to the book, the author sets out his purpose: “this book describes political developments in Indonesia up to the middle of December 2000” (vii). While accurate description of the rapid changes taking place in Indonesia is certainly useful, this reader was left wishing the author had been more ambitious in going beyond description to analysis. There is no introductory chapter laying out the book’s arguments or themes. Likewise, there is no concluding chapter which sums up or draws conclusions from the material presented. Individual chapters proceed thematically but miss the chance to draw comparisons to other periods of Indonesian politics or to transitions from authoritarian rule elsewhere. What do we gain now from looking back at the 1997 elections? Besides understanding the context in which Suharto’s regime was brought down, there is more to examine. How were the elections in 1997 similar to and different from those of 1999? Is there a relationship between the violence in 1996/1997 and subsequent outbreaks of violence?
The author also presents a great deal of information on the changing role of political institutions in the book (such as the presidency, the military, and the legislature) but forgoes the chance to analyze these changing roles. Beyond this comparative analysis, the reader was also looking for evaluation. How can we now view the choices made by Suharto? What about Habibie’s interregnum? What, if anything, really changed in Indonesia over the period of study?
In keeping with the author’s goal to describe developments in Indonesia from 1997 to 2000, he has done so. Context, actors, motivations, and external players have all been considered in driving the tale of Suharto’s ouster and the development of the new political system. Scholars seeking to understand this tumultuous period would do well to reference van Dijk’s work.