The Politics of Post-Suharto Indonesia

Indonesia has entered a period of turmoil and change far greater than at any time since former President Suharto took power more than three decades ago. Reeling from the economic crisis that swept through Asia in 1997-98 and facing its first democratic election in more than forty years, the world’s fourth-most-populous nation is entering a critical transition period. Key opinion leaders around the world need to understand the forces and constituencies that are likely to emerge and affect the transition. These are the findings of The Politics of Post-Suharto Indonesia.

Co-editors Adam Schwarz and Jonathan Paris bolster these conclusions with an analysis of the end of President Suharto’s thirty-two-year reign. They then illuminate key challenges facing the B. J. Habibie government: implementing a more representative political system, restoring economic health, containing ethnic and religious tensions, and managing the military's evolving political role.

This book responds to the critical need of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars for current research on Indonesia. The authors, all acclaimed international experts on Indonesia, focus on those areas that are particularly nettlesome for Indonesia's new leaders: the economy, religion and ethnicity, civil society, and the military. A concluding chapter is devoted to the International Monetary Fund and U.S. policy toward Indonesia. The result of their inquiries is a rich, forward-looking volume that provides a first glimpse into the future of Indonesia in the post-Suharto era.

A Council on Foreign Relations Book