Cold War, Reformasi, and Domestic Consequences in the post-Suharto Era in Indonesia
Ali Maksum
Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
Abstract
This article attempts to examine the impact of the changes of international politics especially after the end of the Cold War towards Indonesian domestic politics. The end of the Cold War followed by new international issues such as democracy, human rights, and good government as well as clash of civilizations influenced on Indonesian politics. At the same time, Indonesian government under Suharto and his military regime was under strong international scrutiny due to some allegations regarding human rights abuses during New Order administration especially in East Timor (Timor Leste). The international pressures that articulated through democracy campaign and economic crisis gave political consequences on Indonesian politics where the final goal is to oust Suharto from his office. The scenario was reached peak in 1998 when the Reformasi (reformation) outbreak and Suharto regime finally collapse following mass demonstration mainly in the hearth city of Jakarta. The failure of Suharto regime to survive basically due to the structure of Suharto administration was so fragile amid of the massive corruption and nepotism in the government. This situation probably different if the Cold War is sustaining until recently. Therefore, this is important topics divided into four sections namely introduction, Indonesia and geopolitics Post-Cold War period, Reformasi and its implications, and conclusion.
Keywords: international politics, democracy, reformasi, Indonesian politics
Topic: International Symposium on Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, and Religious Studies