Rethinking Indonesia: Postcolonial Theory, Authoritarianism and Identity

by S. Philpott

Overview

This book employs alternative approaches to authoritarianism, power, domination and political identity in contemporary Indonesia. It seeks to clarify the relationship between knowledge and 'real' politics. Drawing upon the thought of Edward Said and Michel Foucault, the text argues that understandings of Indonesian political life are profoundly shaped by particular approaches to culture, tradition, ethnicity, Cold War politics and modernity. Power, domination and the effects of authoritarianism on identity are key areas of discussion in this innovative and topical analysis of Indonesia and the study of its politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349414253
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/2000
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2000
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

SIMON PHILPOTT is coordinator of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Foreword: Knowing Indonesia: Power, Politics and Change Knowing Indonesia: The Making of an Orientalist The Study of Indonesian Politics Imagining Southeast Asia: Power and Knowledge in the Formation of a Southeast Asian Politics Discourse Government, Subjectivity, and Power: Contemporary Indonesian Politics Discourse and Its Alternatives Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

Examining the work of political scientists on Indonesia as a distinct element of postwar American social scientific thought, Philpott (Asian studies, U. of Tasmania) considers the effects of their theoretical assumptions on the current understanding of Indonesian public life. He draws on the thinking of Edward Said and Michel Foucault to argue that the liberal basis of American social science profoundly shapes the understanding of culture, tradition, ethnicity, and modernity in the Pacific Asian country. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews