Sugar yesterday was what oil is today: a commodity of immense global importance whose tentacles reached deep into politics, society and economy. Indonesia's colonial-era sugar industry is largely forgotten today, except by a small number of regional specialists writing for a specialist audience. During the period 1880-1942 covered by this book, however, the then Netherlands Indies was one of the world's very greatest producer-exporters of the commodity. How it contrived to do so is the story presented in this book. Book jacket.

This book evaluates the capacity of new democratic regimes to promote redistributive agrarian reform, an issue of contemporary concern in countries throughout the world. Agrarian reform is particularly complex and difficult for new democracies because it curtails the power and privileges of influential elements of society. The author analyzes the problems attendant on political liberalization and social and economic reform by examining in detail the formulation and implementation of agrarian reform in the Philippines under the governments of Corazon Aquino and her successor, Fidel Ramos. The book explores how the interaction between state and society shapes reform policy decisions, paying close attention to the role of cultural variables and social organizations. It shows that what is needed for successful agrarian reform is a combination of sustained, forceful leadership from a disciplined, reform-oriented political party and grassroots agitation by peasant organizations.