The New Order government (1966-1998) put great emphasis on developing Indonesia's agricultural sector. In this thesis, I aim to trace back the origin of this emphasis to the Dutch colonial regime...Show moreThe New Order government (1966-1998) put great emphasis on developing Indonesia's agricultural sector. In this thesis, I aim to trace back the origin of this emphasis to the Dutch colonial regime during the period of its Ethical Policy (1901-1942). Specifically, I explore the argument whether the New Order elites' historical experience of a bureaucratic Dutch colonial state can explain the New Order government's emphasis on agriculture. I argue that the existing state in the Indonesian archipelago in either period may not be as strongly bureaucratic as previously thought, that the argument of the New Order elites' historical experience of a bureaucratic Dutch colonial state may not explain the New Order government's emphasis on agriculture, and that both regimes' approaches to agricultural development may not be viewed entirely as state-led. These conclusions call for a reassessment of the existing state in the Indonesian archipelago in both periods together with a shift from state-centred to state-society approaches.Show less
