Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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"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
Most of research concerning on Indonesian revolution period is focused mainly on political and military aspects. Much less attention is given to economic history, more specifically history of...Show moreMost of research concerning on Indonesian revolution period is focused mainly on political and military aspects. Much less attention is given to economic history, more specifically history of economic policy. This thesis examines the relationship between the economic policy and the continuity of Indonesian state during the revolution period. It analyzes how the state built its policy, what the policies were and what the implications were for the country development. I argue, despite there is a belief that considers the revolution period is “a history no change”, several economic policies had an impact to the state within the decolonization framework.Show less
This thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women...Show moreThis thesis examines the massacre of Chinese in Tangerang that occurred between late May and June 1946, following the Dutch occupation in Serpong, Tangerang. More than a thousand Chinese men, women, and children were killed in various places in the interior of Tangerang. This thesis argues that the massacre was not an incidental event, but had its roots in the social disorganization, economic instability, and the collapse of authority occasioned by the Dutch colonial regime and Japanese occupation. Although outbursts of violence in Indonesia have a long history, the Tangerang massacre is a unique case, as it was targeted at a specific population, and it was perpetrated by a specific religious group. Moreover, jawara was also included in local patterns of violence and played a useful role of intimidation of those considered a problem of local government. Perpetrators of anti-Chinese violence in Tangerang justified their actions by saying that the Chinese were aliens in the community, as well as non-believers. The Tangerang massacre was only one in a long series of cases of anti-Chinese violence all over Java, in which both the Dutch and the Indonesian Republic failed to protect the lives of the Chinese population during the Indonesian Revolutionary period. Although considerable efforts were made by the Republic to protect the Chinese in order to enlist their support, the Republic's military forces were insufficient to prevent hostile acts by extremist elements whose animosity had been directed against the Chinese. Soon after the massacre in Tangerang, more cases of anti-Chinese violence emerged in other parts of Indonesia: Bagan Siapi-Api (1946), Cirebon (1947), Cibadak (1947), and Cilimus (1947). To date, no specific research has been conducted to examine the communal violence in those areas.Show less
With relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining...Show moreWith relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining culture. Therefore the way that museum collections are accumulated cannot be overlooked. Indeed, according to Peter ter Keurs, collecting is not a neutral activity and in the colonial times, it is a political statement (2009, p. 147). This implies the political nature of museums and its connection with colonialism, in the way that museum collections comprise of objects considered valuable by the colonial power’s perspective. Proceeding from these concepts, my aim is to focus on the analysis of Indonesian collections in the National Museum of Indonesia and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. To be more particular, the thesis seeks to enquiry the repatriation of objects as well as museum collaboration and how these affect the relationship between the two museums, and the two countries. In doing so, the thesis will also look into the practice of collecting, the birth of museums, and the debate over cultural ownership as the foundation to proceed to the discussion about repatriation, museum collaboration, and shared cultural inheritance.Show less
What is war to whom? The troops roaming on Java in the late seventeenth century were of all shapes and colours. Some came from Sulawesi, some from Madura; some were religious others acquisitive....Show moreWhat is war to whom? The troops roaming on Java in the late seventeenth century were of all shapes and colours. Some came from Sulawesi, some from Madura; some were religious others acquisitive. Usually they operated in small units known as war-bands led by a warlord. Despite the differences between these war-bands, many of them did gather and fight under a single banner. Often they hurdled behind overlords -sunans or sultans- who were in need for additional brawn; a competitive market of martial supply and demand resulted. The king with the most men usually won. Even the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was part of this market and relied on indigenous patrol. In 1677, the Company decided to support the Central Javanese realm called Mataram and thus landed in a diplomatic struggle for troops. This thesis wonders how VOC men reported on these warriors and what clues are given of a Javanese military labour market at odds with the European one. The Dutch commanders would soon find out drawing in allies was as important as winning battles; the extent to which they could enter the networks of warlords and rulers thereby determined much of their victory. This thesis tells how far they did in the two chaotic and bloody years of 1677 and 1678.Show less
