ISBN 9781032089829
Published June 30, 2021 by Routledge
176 Pages
Book Description
This book examines military operations other than war (MOOTW) of the Indonesian military in the post-Suharto period and argues that the twin development of democratic consolidation, marked by ‘stable’ civil–military relations from 2004 to 2014 under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency, and internationalization of the military have not yet entirely de-politicized the armed forces.
This book shows how peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counter-terror missions have been reinvented by the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) to adhere to its politico-institutional interests rather than to divert military attention from politics. In contrast with conventional arguments about the rationale of MOOTW in promoting military professionalism, this book provides the first critical analysis of the development of these missions and correlates them with TNI’s concerted effort to preserve territorial command structure – a military network that parallels the civilian bureaucracy down to the village level. The book argues that the military in Indonesia remains domestically political amidst high intensity of international activism.
A detailed investigation of civil–military relations in Indonesia, this book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of Southeast Asian studies and Asian politics, and more generally to those interested in civil–military relations, military politics, and MOOTW.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction: military operations other than war in post-Suharto Indonesia; 2 Civilian control and democratization: historical developments; 3 In search of justification: peacekeeping and territorial commands; 4 Repositioning military missions: HADR and territorial commands; 5 Connecting regional norms and domestic missions: counter-terrorism and territorial commands; 6 Conclusion: politics of re-legitimizing territorial commands
Author(s)
Biography
Muhamad Haripin is a researcher at the Centre for Political Studies – Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Pusat Penelitian Politik – LIPI), Indonesia. His research interests include civil–military relations, MOOTW, intelligence studies, and non-traditional security.
Reviews
“Muhamad Haripin’s book, Civil-Military Relations in Indonesia: The Politics of Military Operations Other Than War, is a fresh take on military reform in the post-Soeharto era. It is a welcome addition to a rich canon of writing on civil-military relations in Indonesia […] Overall, the book’s greatest contribution is its scrutiny of the military’s political behaviour in a new, albeit indirect, way, while at the same time informing the reader about three important areas of the armed forces’ activities during the Yudhoyono era. […] Thus, for its accessibility and data, the book is highly recommended for students and scholars of civil-military relations, Southeast Asian politics and military affairs more generally.”
Natalie Sambhi, Verve Research