A gripping account of Indonesia's political and economic struggles, from the final days of Soeharto's rule through the first two years of Wahid's presidency. Kevin O'Rourke's accessible and compelling style conveys the drama of recent events along with an indepth understanding of the whole region.

In July 1996, President Soeharto crossed a point of no return. Small but vocal student groups were staging daily demonstrations to demand 'reformasi' - Indonesia's byword for democratic reform. Disturbed by the unprecedented show of dissent, Soeharto cracked down. But by demonstrating that he would cling to power through force, the 74-year-old president dashed hopes for a peaceful democratic transition. The world's fourth largest nation was rolling towards a high-stakes political crisis - pitting reformers against corruptors, Islamists against nationalists, and the elite against the Indonesian people. Drawing on scores of personal interviews and extensive bi-lingual research, Reformasi relates the course of Indonesian politics from 1996 through to the end of 2001. It recounts the collapse of the financial system, the downfall of Soeharto and the relentless power struggles of an unscrupulous ruling class. It unravels the headline-grabbing corruption scandals that bankrupted the economy, while shedding light on the skullduggery behind much of the country's continuing violence and strife - including the Trisakti shootings, the May 1998 riots and the scorched-earth campaign in East Timor. A full six years after Soeharto's July 1996 crackdown, the fate of the world's largest Muslim country still hangs in the balance. Reformasi provides fresh perspectives on political Islam, the prospects for democracy and the implications of military involvement in governance and business. Above all, Reformasi demonstrates that demands for reform are strong and enduring - but so too is the legacy of Soeharto. KEVIN O'ROURKE graduated from Harvard University before moving to Jakarta, where he has worked for eight years as an investment banker, consultant and political risk analyst. Throughout the height of the political transition, he scrutinised events first-hand by authoring the Van Zorge Report, an independent bi-weekly journal on politics and economics.

How does an authoritarian state reform its police force following a transition to democracy? In 1998, Indonesia, the third largest country in the world, faced just such a challenge. Policing had long been managed under the jurisdiction of the military, as an instrument of the Suharto regime – and with Suharto abruptly removed from office, this was about to change. Here we see how it changed, and how far these changes were for the better. Based on direct observations by a scholar who was involved in the last days of the New Order and who saw how the police responded to regime change, this book examines the police, the new regime, and how the police was disassociated from the military in Indonesia. Providing a comprehensive historical overview of the position of police in this change of regime, the book focuses on two key areas: the differences between local and national levels, and the politicisation associated with decentralisation. Arguing that the disassociation of the Indonesian National Police from the military has achieved only limited success, the book contends that there is continued impetus for the establishment of a professional police force and modern and democratic policing, which will entail effective public control of the police. A pioneering study of the police in Indonesia, examining key issues in the post-Suharto era, this book will be of interest to scholars of Southeast Asian politics and of policing and politics in the developing world.

When in May 1998 General Suharto eventually resigned, hopes were high that Indonesia would head towards a more democratic future. Have these hopes materialized in any way? This book provides an analysis of change and continuity as manifest in key legislation on the political system and human rights. Constitutional Amendments and new laws - amongst others on political parties, elections, the press, labour unions, human rights and human rights courts - are assessed against Suharto-era legislation as well as against international standards as laid down in international human rights instruments.