Renegotiating boundaries; Access, agency and identity in post-Soeharto Indonesia

Abstract

Renegotiating boundaries Access, agency and identity in post-Soeharto Indonesia The miracle of the Titanic After the monetary and political crisis of 1997 and 1998, which was followed by a period labelled 'reformasi', Indonesia is viewed by some observers as having entered a transitional phase from authoritarian rule by a strong state towards a new democratie system of government in which civil society will play a more prominent role. 1 This transition is, moreover, accompanied by a process of decentralization that emphasizes regional autonomy and brings democracy to the people while making government more transparent. Others contest this optimistic view and see, instead, a negative transition from 'order to disorder'. After decades of authoritarian centralist rule, attempts to introducé political and economie change seem doomed, in the face of bureaucratie sabotage, corrupt power politics, short-term opportunism, and the absence of a widely shared vision of the future. In the light of recent outbursts of ethnic and religious violence in various regions of the archipelago, regional resistance movements, the inability to restrucrure both the army and the economy, and the failure to curb collusion, nepotism, and corruption, pessimists are inclined to classify Indonesia in the category of 1 This article is a preliminary result of the KITLV research project 'Renegotiating Boundaries: Access, Agency and Identity in post-Soeharto Indonesia' (see www.kitlv.nl). It is exploratory in nature, and raises more questions than answers. Earlier versions have been presented at the Centre for Development and the

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