This collection of more than one hundred excerpts from speeches, lectures, articles, and pamphlets, most of the not previously available in English, is regarded as the principal source book on Indonesian politics for the post-revolution period of 1945-1965. Chosen to define and illuminate the country's complex issues, the selections provide a balanced, comprehensive, and well-ordered survey of Indonesian political thinking from just before independence to the fall of Sukarno. After an introduction by Herbert Feith in which he discusses the Indonesian intellectual and his place in politics, the major and minor Indonesian figures of the period express their political views and their responses to the events of the first twenty years of independence. A commentary at the beginning of each chapter supplies background material relating to the selections. Three appendixes offer brief biographies of the Indonesian authors, a glossary of unfamiliar terms, and a chronological chart. Indonesian Political Thinking, now brought back to life in Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series, is a must-have resource for Indonesians and Indonesianists alike. HERBERT FEITH was professor of Politics at Monash University, Victoria, Australia. He first became familiar with Indonesian problems when he was an English Language Assistant with the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Indonesia during the 1950s. He received the MA degree from the University of Melbourne, the PhD from Cornell University, and was a Research Fellow in the Department of Pacific History, Australian National University, 1960-62. Professor Feith is author of The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia, also a member of Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series. LANCE CASTLES graduated from Melbourne University, Australia, received the MA degree from Monash University, and the PhD degree from Yale University. He is the author of Religion, Politics, and Economic Behavior in Java: The Kudus Cigarette Industry.

This sophisticated study, now brought back into print as the second book in Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series, delineates the ideology of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) during a crucial period in its history. After sketching the evolution of the Party's doctrines between 1951 and 1959, Professor Mortimer analyzes the ideas, programs, and policies of the PKI during Guided Democracy, showing how they developed and were implemented. Mortimer thoroughly examines the relationship between the Party and President Sukarno and offers new interpretations of the events leading up to the abortive coup and the bloody destruction of the PKI in 1965. Specialists and students of modern Indonesia and of Asian nationalism will welcome this first history of Indonesian communism during an era that began with spectacular expansion and ended in disaster.

Periods of major political transition are generally so complex as to present the political analyst with one of his most difficult challenges. Indonesia between 1957 and 1959 was no exception. During these years a previously wide diffusion of political power was superseded by its increasing concentration in three major bases: President Soekarno, the Army and the Communist Party. This was also a period of crisis in the relationships of Djakarta and Java with the other major islands of the archipelago; and it was marked by ideological ferment and change, largely dominated by the views of President Soekarno. It was during these years that Guided Democracy was given its initial shape, with the stage being set for a power struggle which was to become increasingly intense. So dramatic were the political experiences of this period and so deeply etched in the minds of many Indonesians that their effect is still strongly felt and can be expected to influence the character of Indonesia's political development for many years to come. Dr. Daniel S. Lev is particularly well qualified to examine the course of Indonesian political developments between 1957 and 1959. Arriving in Indonesia towards the end of this period, he remained there for three years engaged in an intensive study of its political life. His monograph constitutes by far the most searching analysis yet to appear of this critically important period. As well as providing a guide to these earlier formative years in the nation's political development, it will, I am sure, long remain relevant for all those seriously interested in understanding contemporary Indonesian political life. - George McT. Kahin, August 10, 1966

No detailed description available for "Twenty years Indonesian foreign policy 1945-1965".

"This important study elevates the personalities of Sukarno and Soeharto into key explanatory factors for the character of their "Guided Democracy" and "New Order" regimes, respectively. The broad shift since 1998 from personal to constitutional rule has its personal counterpoint in the relationship between Megawati and her father, which makes this unique blend of history and biography a powerful tool for understanding the Indonesian presidency."--Jacket.