Indonesia in the 1950s: Nation, modernity, and the post-colonial state

2011/01/01 by Henk Schulte Nordholt · 57 citations
Social Sciences · #Asian Studies and History #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #Socioeconomic Development in Asia #Modernity #Indonesian #Colonialism #State (computer science) #National identity #Gender studies #Identity (music) #Nation state #Political science #Sociology #Ethnology #History #Aesthetics #Law #Politics #Art #Philosophy

paper · pdf · doi:10.1163/22134379-90003577

published in Bijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 167(4), 386-404 (Brill)

openalex publication_date 2011/01/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

This essay explores discussions in the 1950s about Indonesian national identity, which were primarily framed in cultural terms. The early years of this decade witnessed optimistic efforts to shape a new nation driven by modernity. Gradually these efforts were aborted by the encroachment of the state. In this respect questions are raised concerning the post-colonial nature of the Indonesian middle class which inhabited this state.

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• Priyayi [wikipedia]

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