Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
open access
Since the late 1940’s, the Kashmir region has been a disputed area. The three central actors involved in this conflict (the Kashmiri people, India and Pakistan) have been claiming sovereignty over...Show moreSince the late 1940’s, the Kashmir region has been a disputed area. The three central actors involved in this conflict (the Kashmiri people, India and Pakistan) have been claiming sovereignty over the region. Ever since, there has been a constant dispute over the Kashmiri territory which of late has turned more violent. In July 2016, another wave of armed riots erupted in Kashmir after the Indian army killed the pro-Kashmir independence militant, Burhan Wani. Such event raised the question one more time concerning who has a legitimate right over this territory, and if there is a possibility to finally close this chapter of uncertainty in Kashmir.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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Income inequality in Indonesia increased rapidly between 2003 and 2011. The Gini coefficient increased 28 percent, from 0.32 to 0.41 over the period. My dissertation aims to identify the underlying...Show moreIncome inequality in Indonesia increased rapidly between 2003 and 2011. The Gini coefficient increased 28 percent, from 0.32 to 0.41 over the period. My dissertation aims to identify the underlying driving factors behind the drastic increase. The dissertation deals with the three potential driving factors for the rising income inequality in Indonesia: The commodity boom in 2003-2011, the changes in the structure of Indonesian growth, labour market and wages in the 2000s, and the impact of fiscal policy. I find that the commodity boom between 2003 and 2011 had a strong distributional consequence by substantially altering the distribution and relative returns of capital and labour through two channels: Firstly, through generating prominent capital-incomes for the capital-owners. And secondly, the commodity boom was associated with the adverse development in Indonesian labour market in the 2000s via Dutch Disease effects. The labour market development, for the lower income quintiles, was characterized by increased shifts from higher productivity and formal employment to low productivity, low pay, and informal employment in the service sector and small manufacturing firms. While simultaneously the formality rate and skill premium increased in the highest income quintile relative to the rest. I also find that the use of fiscal policy to mitigate the distributional consequences of the commodity boom has been inadequate. The fiscal policy between 2003 and 2011 has, to a large extent, neglected pro-poor and pro-growth measures, strongly reflecting the lack of political will to balance out the increasingly unequal income distribution in Indonesia.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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This thesis considers the pesantren, Senin-Kamis Al-Fatah, that was solely for the waria-community of Yogyakarta. The thesis describes the position of waria in Indonesia before Islam became...Show moreThis thesis considers the pesantren, Senin-Kamis Al-Fatah, that was solely for the waria-community of Yogyakarta. The thesis describes the position of waria in Indonesia before Islam became dominant and describes a tolerant and intolerant version of Islam.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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High public support for anticorruption campaigns exists already for a long time in Indonesia. However, since the establishment of a celebrated anticorruption body during democratic times, all three...Show moreHigh public support for anticorruption campaigns exists already for a long time in Indonesia. However, since the establishment of a celebrated anticorruption body during democratic times, all three government branches have shown members to make attempts to weaken the anticorruption body after they became suspects in corruption cases. Elitists in the Indonesian government openly fight the morally supported KPK anticorruption body.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
open access
The TPP is one of the most well-known FTAs in the world, which accounts for 40% of the world total trade amount. According to some scholars, the TPP is an instrument to contain China led by the US,...Show moreThe TPP is one of the most well-known FTAs in the world, which accounts for 40% of the world total trade amount. According to some scholars, the TPP is an instrument to contain China led by the US, rather than a high-standard FTA. In addition, Japan, as the traditional alliance of the US and the vital trade partner of China, also participates in the TPP, following negotiations. This thesis focuses on Japan’s participation in the TPP and its impact on China. The problem that this paper will endeavor to solve is whether Japan’s participation in the TPP creates predicaments for China. The studies of the TPP differ from the aspect of various countries. By analyzing and comparing the studies inside and outside of China, I hold the view that China is facing an economic predicament and, because of China’s economic influence, a political predicament that is, by contrast, less severe. However, if China’s economic influence decreases due to the economic problems that it faces, the political predicament will be hard to avoid.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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This dissertation aims at examining the divergent outcomes of cash crop production in Indonesia and the sharply contrasting evaluations in the literature. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an...Show moreThis dissertation aims at examining the divergent outcomes of cash crop production in Indonesia and the sharply contrasting evaluations in the literature. Land’s End: Capitalist Relations on an Indigenous Frontier by Tanya Murray Li, and Pursuing Livelihoods, Imagining Development: Smallholders in Highland Lampung, Indonesia by Ahmad Kusworo are exemplary of the discrepancy. By way of comparing the ethnographies, the dissertation attempts to uncover what explains the differing appraisals of commercialization processes in Indonesia.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acquired power in 2014 many pro-Hindu regulations have been gone into a fast track. One of these regulations is a...Show moreEver since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, acquired power in 2014 many pro-Hindu regulations have been gone into a fast track. One of these regulations is a ban on the consumption and possession of beef, which is a legal offence. This ban on beef is viewed as an attack on the citizenship of India’s largest of minority groups; the Dalits and Muslims. This thesis questions how a ban like this contradicts with the secular identity of India. The citizenship of the minority groups will be examined by having an historical overview of their struggles to reach equality within a society with changing interpretations of secularism. Why has there occurred discrepancies in the theory and practice in Indian secularism? And how does this weaken the citizenship of the minorities? Can India , with the expansion of the beef ban explain the development of the large beef export industry on the grounds of secularism? This thesis develops an understanding that pluralistic societies use their secular identity only when it fits their political agenda.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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Alle popmuziek in Indonesië komt van buitenaf. Het niet verwonderlijk zijn als de taal die gebruikt wordt ook van buitenaf komt. Het tegenovergestelde blijkt waar. Het meerendeel van de...Show moreAlle popmuziek in Indonesië komt van buitenaf. Het niet verwonderlijk zijn als de taal die gebruikt wordt ook van buitenaf komt. Het tegenovergestelde blijkt waar. Het meerendeel van de Indonesische popmuziek is in het in het Indonesich. Ik bespreek waarom. Hiervoor heb ik de medewerking weten te krijgen van verschillende grote Indonesische artiesten. Zij vertellen mij hun redenen om voor een bepaalde taal te kiezen.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
During the 39th World Veg(etari)an festival, which was held in Jakarta in 2010, the International Vegetarian Union manager John Davis said that Indonesia’s vegetarians were ‘one of the biggest...Show moreDuring the 39th World Veg(etari)an festival, which was held in Jakarta in 2010, the International Vegetarian Union manager John Davis said that Indonesia’s vegetarians were ‘one of the biggest vegetarian societies in the world’. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants are mushrooming in the cities, the Indonesian Vegetarian Society and the Vegan Society of Indonesia have a solid base of members, and the number of individual practitioners of the lifestyle appears to be big as well. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Theosophy all have contributed in some way to the development of vegism in Indonesia, as well as the foundation and spread of the Vegetarian Society via Australia from England, originally focussing on animal-rights. Indonesia is also interesting to analyse for this matter as its traditional diet seems to be well-suited for veg(etari)ans, as it consists of tofu, tempe, jackfruit, many vegetables and fruits, and originally (almost) no dairy products. This thesis analyses the social movement of vegetarianism and veganism as present in Indonesia, focussing on the origins, the organised forms of vegism, as well as zooming in on the individual practitioners, by depending on a (self-)conducted questionnaire, analysing demographics, reasons, the practices and the process.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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The Hindu-Muslims relations are different in India and on Bali. The reason why this is, is the fact that ideologies in these areas when it comes to Hindus and Muslims dealing with each other differ...Show moreThe Hindu-Muslims relations are different in India and on Bali. The reason why this is, is the fact that ideologies in these areas when it comes to Hindus and Muslims dealing with each other differ. While in India the difference between the two groups are empathized and the inequality between the two religious groups is clear, on Bali it is the similarities between Hindus and Muslims that are stressed and there is no clear inequality between the two religious groups. Why the ideologies are different can be accounted for by the history of the two areas. In India, there was a time when Muslims invaded the country and ruled over them for more than three hundred years. It assumed by the Hindus in India that the Muslims in their country are descendants from the invaders and because of it they are enemies. On Bali, Muslims and Hindus have learned to live in harmony. They feel like they belong to one group. The economy on the island is dependent on an harmonious relationship between the two religious groups.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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In my thesis I will look at two areas in Indonesia which are popular tourism destinations for both Indonesian and foreign tourists and which have experienced and still experience a considerable...Show moreIn my thesis I will look at two areas in Indonesia which are popular tourism destinations for both Indonesian and foreign tourists and which have experienced and still experience a considerable amount of tourist influx. Tana Toraja and Bali are both areas to which tourists are attracted because of the culture they can find there, including for example rituals, architecture and art performances. The tourists visit these places to see and experience something that is different from their daily lives, to break through the daily grind and experience something new. This is in accordance with the definition Valene Smith gives of a tourist: "a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing a change" (1977: 2). The tourists, or guests, visit a place of which its inhabitants can be called the host community and of course there takes interaction place between these two groups of people. Tourism is a powerful medium affecting culture change and I want to examine in how far tourism affects culture in these two areas. Tourism growth in Tana Toraja and Bali started in the 1970s, during Suharto's Orde Baru, and these areas were explicitly named in the First and Second Five Year Plan and encouraged for tourism development. In the years after this the tourist influx in both areas grew exponentially, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, but it decreased in the years from 1997 because of political instability in Indonesia, and of course the Bali bombings in 2002 can't be ignored. So my time-frame will be from the 1970s until now, with the exception of some background information from before that time. In the case of Bali, when looking at tourism and cultural change, it is important to realize what this 'Balinese culture' actually is. Because in earlier times, Balinese culture has been influenced and inspired significantly by Western art and artists (and the other way around), like Walter Spies, and the kind of art that came about then still exists in the Bali of today. Culture is not something static, it is always subject to change and thus ever changing. So I will not discuss one 'kind of culture' in Tana Toraja and Bali respectively, but look at the process of culture change over time. Culture change doesn't always have to be because of outside influences, like tourism, but it can also happen from the inside. From what I've read until now, this is an important point concerning Tana Toraja. My thesis will not just be a one-way analysis of the positive and negative influences of tourism on these areas, but it will also be about how the hosts react and adjust themselves and their culture to the growing tourism in their homeland. There are different effects of tourism on the host community concerning religion, commercialization, the staging of culture, culture becoming art, cultural revivalism, self-image and pride, and I want to examine whether these things are taking place in Bali and Tana Toraja and if Bali responds differently to tourism then Tana Toraja and if so, why this could be. I already found that in Tana Toraja, as a result of nascent tourism, the ancestral religion or Aluk To Dolo has actually been granted legitimacy by the Ministry of Religion, which is interesting. I expect something similar happens in Bali to Hinduism. This is of course already a religion recognized by the Indonesian government, but as with Aluk To Dolo I believe it has gained a lot more political (on the national level) and outside interest and 'prestige' because of tourism. Besides that, the growth of commercial tours to Tana Toraja has supported a renewed interest in local ritual and artistic tradition, as is also true in Bali. Commercialization of religious rites in both areas is almost inevitable and I will further examine in what ways this is taking place. I will include the political context where necessary and the process of modernization and globalization also plays an important role. My expectation is that the effects of tourism in Tana Toraja in most cases parallel those in Bali, although in Bali on a bigger scale than in Tana Toraja, considering the amount of tourists visiting Bali every year. This may have the consequence that the process of culture change in Bali takes place more swiftly, and more gradually in Tana Toraja.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
"Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest number of social media users. However, social media is mainly used in Indonesia (even by politicians) to spread defamation, rumors, and gossip....Show more"Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest number of social media users. However, social media is mainly used in Indonesia (even by politicians) to spread defamation, rumors, and gossip. This is inter alia confirmed by the many anonymous social media accounts only spreading defamation. Rumors and gossip, as well as technology such as mobile phones with cameras and social media, can be seen as means to bridge the gulf between the private practice and the public discourse. With the rise of technological developments available in Indonesia - such as phones with cameras, smartphones, Web 2.0 and thus social media - there appeared an increase of cases in which Indonesian politicians are discredited with their private (sexual) behavior. In this thesis of mine, I will elaborate on this trend of discrediting politicians with sex scandals via social media in Indonesia. What does this trend tell us about Indonesian society? What does it say about democracy, law, morality and Islam in Indonesia’s society? With an eye to answering these questions, with the first being my main question, I would first like to introduce and elaborate a bit upon a few topics that I will be using in my thesis when answering my main question, such as social media. Then I will continue with a chapter in which I will introduce a few case studies of sex scandals that happened in Indonesia. The subsequent chapters will be about topics concerning aspects of the Indonesian society: one chapter about democracy, one about law, and one about morality and Islam. Lastly, I will conclude and answer the main question in the conclusion."Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
In 1857 a group of Indian soldiers in the British army, the sepoys, rebelled against the British which started a revolt in different parts of British-India. Many historians claim that nationalism...Show moreIn 1857 a group of Indian soldiers in the British army, the sepoys, rebelled against the British which started a revolt in different parts of British-India. Many historians claim that nationalism was the cause of this ‘Sepoy Mutiny'. This research looks at the events and causes of this revolt to find out if nationalism was the cause.Show less
