Economic Regimes in the Long Decolonization of Indonesia: The Nexus between State and Business, 1930s-1950s

https://doi.org/10.22146/lembaran-sejarah.23652

Remco Raben(1*)

(1) 
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


This article discusses the relationship between private business and government during both the late-colonial period and the immediate post-independence era. Special attention is given to the chaotic conditions during the Indonesian Revolution in the second half of the 1940s. The article argues that the relationship was strong in both periods but of a fundamentally different nature after independence as compared to Dutch colonial rule. The colonial system of institutionalized business interests was not taken over by the Indonesian nationalists. The colonial system was replaced by a system in which privilege strongly depended on political connections, favouring some, but not all businessmen. Further research is needed to unveil the specifc nature of relationships between private businessmen and the Indonesian state.

Keywords


Political economy, Indonesian Revolution, private business, state

Full Text:

PDF


References

Archival sources

Nationaal Archief (NA), The Hague Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS), no. 3063.

Indische Ondernemersbond (OBI), no. 51.

Losse Aanwinsten, no. 169.

Ondernemersraad voor Nederlandsch-Indië (ORNI), no. 66, 92.

Sinnighe Damsté, no. 16.

Document sources

Nederlands-Indonesische Betrekkingen (NIB). Offciële bescheiden betreffende de NederlandsIndonesische betrekkingen, 1945-1950 [compiled by S.L. van der Wal and P.J.58 Drooglever]. Vol. XII, XX. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1971-1996.

Statistisch jaaroverzicht van Nederlandsch-Indië, Vol. 7. Buitenzorg: Centraal Kantoor voor de Statistiek in Nederlandsch-Indië, 1929.

Newspapers

Pandji Poestaka, 25 April, 18 July 1942.

Tjahaja, 26 and 28 August 1942.

Published works

Anrooij, F. van. ‘Crisis en fnancieel beleid in Nederlands-Indië (1920-1925)’, in: F. van Anrooij et al. (eds), Between People and Statistics. Essays on Modern Indonesian History presented to P. Creutzberg. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1979.

Anwar, Rosihan, Bertumbuh melawan arus. Soedarpo Sastrosatomo, suatu biograf, 1920-2001. Jakarta: Pusat Dokumentasi Politik Guntur, 2001.

Baudet, H. & en M. Fennema et al., Het Nederlands belang bij Indië. Utrecht: Aula, 1983.

Booth, Anne, The Indonesian Economy in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. A History of Missed Opportunities. London: Macmillan, 1998.

Campo, J.N.M.F. á. ‘The Rise of Corporate Enterprise in Colonial Indonesia, 1893-1913’, in: J. Thomas Lindblad (ed.), Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890s-1990s. Amsterdam: NorthHolland, 1996, pp. 71-94.

Creutzberg, P., Changing Economy in Indonesia. II. Public Finance, 1816-1939. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1976.

Darwin, John. ‘What was the Late Colonial State?’, Itinerario. European Journal of Overseas History, Vol. 23, No. 3-4, (1999), pp. 73-82.

Feith, Herbert, The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1962.

Glassburner, Bruce. ‘Economic Policy-making in Indonesia, 1950-1957’, in: Bruce Glassburner (ed.), The Economy of Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1971, pp. 70-98.

Homan, Gerlof D. ‘American Business Interests in the Indonesian Republic, 1946-1949’, Indonesia, Vol. 35 (April), 1983, pp. 125-32.

Jonker, Joost & Keetie Sluyterman, Thuis op de wereldmarkt. Nederlandse handelshuizen door de eeuwen heen. The Hague: SDU, 2000.

Kroef, Justus M. van der. ‘The Indonesian Entrepreneur: Images, Potentialities and Problems’, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1960, pp. 413-25.

Lindblad, J. Thomas, ‘Politieke economie en de dekolonisatie van Indonesië’, in: J. Thomas Lindblad & Willem van der Molen (eds), Macht en majesiteit; Opstellen voor Cees Fasseur. Leiden: Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, 2001, pp. 132-46.

Lindblad, J. Thomas. ‘Conglomerates in Indonesia; The road to power and beyond’, in: Alex E. Fernandez Jilberto & Barbara Hogenboom (eds), Big Business and Economic Development. Conglomerates and Economic Groups in Developing Countries and Transition Economies under Globalisation. London/New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 65-85.

Lindblad, J. Thomas, Bridges to New Business. The Economic Decolonization of Indonesia. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2008. Locher-Scholten, E.B. ‘The Establishment of Colonial Rule in Jambi. The Dual Strand of Politics and Economics’, in: J. Thomas Lindblad (ed.), Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890s-1990s. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1996, pp. 137-51..

Panglaykim, Thomas & Ingrid Palmer, State Trading Corporations in Developing Countries. Rotterdam: Rotterdam University Press, 1969.

Post, Peter. ‘The Formation of the Pribumi Business Elite in Indonesia, 1930s-1940s’, in: Peter Post & Elly Touwen-Bouwsma (eds), Japan, Indonesia and the War. Myths Realities. Leiden: KITLV Press, 1997, pp. 87-110.

Post, Peter. ‘Indonesianisasi and Japanization. The Japanese and the Shifting Fortunes of pribumi Entrepreneurship’, in: J. Thomas Lindblad & Peter Post (eds), Indonesian Economic Decolonization in Regional and International Perspective. Leiden: KITLV Press, 2009, pp. 61-86.

Robison, Richard, Indonesia: The Rise of Capital. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1986.

Sutter, John O. Indonesianisasi: A Historical Survey of the Role of Politics in the Institutions of a Changing Economy from the Second World War to the Eve of the General Election, 1940-1955. PhD dissertation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1959.

Taselaar, Arjen, De Nederlandse koloniale lobby. Ondernemers en de Indische politiek: 1914-1940. Leiden: CNWS, 1998.

Thee Kian Wie. ‘Economic Policies in Indonesia during the Period 1950-1965, in particular with Respect to Foreign Investment,’ in: J. Thomas Lindblad (ed.), Historical Foundations of a National Economy in Indonesia, 1890s-1990s. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1996, pp. 315-29.

Thee Kian Wie, Recollections: The Indonesian Economy, 1950s-1990s. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003.

Twang Peck Yang, The Chinese Business Elite in Indonesia and the Transition to Independence, 1940-1950. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1998.



DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/lembaran-sejarah.23652

Article Metrics

Abstract views : 1718 | views : 1849

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2017 Lembaran Sejarah

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


ISSN 2620-5882(online) | © 2024 Lembaran Sejarah

View My Stats