Political scientists like Benedict Anderson and Dan Slater have observed how a key legacy of late Indonesian president Suharto's New Order regime has been the emergence of a national oligarchy. This is related to the politics of deforestation in Indonesia, and such pronouncements by academics like Anderson and Slater do not give one confidence that things will be changing anytime soon. Yikes.
Some revealing observations from Anderson's 2008 essay, "Exit Suharto: Obituary for a Mediocre Tyrant" (New Left Review, 50, pp.27-59), as follows:
"In the late 1960s, the goverment began the systematic destruction of the country's primary forests by favoured cronies and military men, as well as foreign companies." (p.36)
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"Deliberately or not, he [Suharto] created over time the Indonesian national oligarchy of today: quarrelsome, but intermarried; competitive, but avoiding any serious internal conflict; without ideas, but determined to hang on to what they have, at all costs." (p.45)
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"The crucial thing is that this national oligarchy and its hangers-on are largely incapable of thinking outside the old regime's box. Cynics joke that there used to be one big Suharto, now there are hundreds of little ones." (pp.45-6)
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While SBY tried to go outside the box by forming his own party etc., his hands are very much tied by the vested interests of this oligarchy. Dan Slater has written a piece titled "Indonesia's Accountability Trap: Party Cartels and Presidential Power after Democratic Transition" (Indonesia 78, 2005). While it was written 7 years ago, the cartels / oligarchy remain. One could see this as occuring in spite of SBY's efforts, or alternatively, see SBY as part of the system, one which is Suharto's most damning legacy.
Some revealing observations from Anderson's 2008 essay, "Exit Suharto: Obituary for a Mediocre Tyrant" (New Left Review, 50, pp.27-59), as follows:
"In the late 1960s, the goverment began the systematic destruction of the country's primary forests by favoured cronies and military men, as well as foreign companies." (p.36)
***
"Deliberately or not, he [Suharto] created over time the Indonesian national oligarchy of today: quarrelsome, but intermarried; competitive, but avoiding any serious internal conflict; without ideas, but determined to hang on to what they have, at all costs." (p.45)
***
"The crucial thing is that this national oligarchy and its hangers-on are largely incapable of thinking outside the old regime's box. Cynics joke that there used to be one big Suharto, now there are hundreds of little ones." (pp.45-6)
***
While SBY tried to go outside the box by forming his own party etc., his hands are very much tied by the vested interests of this oligarchy. Dan Slater has written a piece titled "Indonesia's Accountability Trap: Party Cartels and Presidential Power after Democratic Transition" (Indonesia 78, 2005). While it was written 7 years ago, the cartels / oligarchy remain. One could see this as occuring in spite of SBY's efforts, or alternatively, see SBY as part of the system, one which is Suharto's most damning legacy.
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