Suchergebnisse

The idea of democratic rule requires that democratically elected civilian government should have effective authority over the army. The role of national army is purely for defence. Army's direct involvement in politics will undermine its capability to cope with external threats. Indonesia is an example where the army was deeply involved in the country's political affairs. This article shows that Indonesian national army has already possessed political orientation since the beginning of Indonesia's independence. Military and political functions performed by the Indonesian army during revolutionary war has been influential factor in shaping army's doctrine and self-perception of his role as not only the guardian of the state but also political force of the country. The weakness of civilian institutions, elite conflicts and national culture especially Javanese tradition has contributted as well to this situation. The role of Indonesian army in politics has gradually decreased since the reform of Indonesia's political system initiated in 1998.

This article examines civil-military relations in Indonesia and the Philippines in the after-math of the largely unexpected recent coup in Thailand. The central issue it investigates is whether Indonesia and the Philippines may prove equally susceptible to military intervention. The conclusion is that although the potential for coups in the Philippines can never be discounted, Indonesia looks surprisingly stable by contrast. One key cause of this apparent stability, it is argued, is the military's role in economic activities, which makes it more or less content with the status quo. Although the dynamics of civil-military relations are significantly different in both the Philippines and Thailand, all three cases suggest that there is a need to take the political economy of civil-military relations much more seriously if we wish to understand them fully in the contemporary era.

The long-standing debate about civil-military relations remains unresolved, especially in light of the third wave of democratization. This study highlights the Indonesian case and its democratization experiment and argues that in spite of changes in civil-military relations during the "third wave," there are certain imperatives that have remained constant. Using Rebecca Schiff's concordance approach, and taking into consideration Indonesia's historical and cultural realities, the article analyzes both the transformation of civilmilitary relations in Indonesia and its limitations. The Indonesian military remains a critical political player in Indonesian politics despite democratization, with a "back to barracks" posture that is unlikely to change in the near future, especially at a time when the country is faced with numerous security challenges and instabilities.

"This book examines military operations other than war (MOOTW) of the Indonesian military in the post-Suharto period and argues that the twin development of democratic consolidation, marked by 'stable' civil-military relations in 2004-2014 under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency, and the internationalization of the military have not yet entirely de-politicized the armed forces. This book shows how peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counter-terror missions have been reinvented by the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) to adhere to its politico-institutional interests, rather than to divert military attention from politics. In contrast with conventional arguments about the rationale of MOOTW in promoting military professionalism, this book provides the first critical analysis of the development of these missions and correlates them with TNI's concerted effort to preserve territorial command structure - a military network that parallels the civilian bureaucracy down to village level. The book argues that the military in Indonesia remains domestically political amidst high intensity of international activism. A detailed investigation of civil-military relations in Indonesia, this book will be of interest to scholars in the field of Southeast Asian studies, Asian politics and more generally to those interested in Civil-Military Relations, military politics and Military Operations Other Than War"--

Introduction : military operations other than war in post-Suharto Indonesia -- Civilian control and democratization : historical developments -- In search of justification : peacekeeping and territorial commands -- Repositioning military missions : HADR and territorial commands -- Connecting regional norms and domestic missions : counter-terrorism and territorial commands -- Conclusion : politics of re-legitimizing territorial commands.