Politieke mobilisering in Indonesië: nationalisten versus communisten

Samenvatting

The ties between the nationalists and communists in Indonesia were close during the struggle for independence. In 1960 Sukarno set up the national front, which arose out of the national front for the liberation of West-Irian. The national front was expected to assume the functions of the political parties and needed to mobilize the masses. This latter function was used by Sukarno to offset the influence of the military. An essential element in mobilization of the masses was the communists, who had a fair amount of popular support and were good organizers. However, the communists lost much of their support after the abortive coup of 1948, and thus took a more moderate approach to the internal problems of Indonesia. With the land reform law of 1960, which did little to change the status quo, the party became more openly radical. Later, Sukarno moved to the left, establishing closer relations with the Peoples' Republic of China and taking certain measures against US firms. A communist was appointed to a (token) position in the cabinet for the first time, leading to a split within Sukarno's ranks and to the gradual demise of the communist movement. P. Tiersma.