Gary Dean - Posts

East Asia and the Roots of the Economic Crisis

 – From a Western perspective

The past two decades or so has witnessed the increasing dominance of neoliberal perspectives within international political, social and economic thinking. This has particularly been the case since the end of the Cold War, which seems to have triggered a decline of alternative social and economic perspectives. The fall of the Soviet Union was viewed as the triumph of individualist market systems over collectivist state-managed systems of economic organisation, at the same time sweeping away all alternative perspectives which may have lain somewhere in between these polarities. An equally triumphalist neoliberal tenor was also to be heard at the outset of the East Asian economic crisis. Once again, the superiority of individualism and 'free markets' were proclaimed over the perceived deficiencies of Asian cultural collectivism and state-assisted economic development. Sta

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Analysing the end of Suharto's Indonesia

 – The role of culture in Indonesian politics

The incantations and vocabulary of the new era are rapidly taking hold in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto and his New Order regime. KKN, reformasi and transparansi have replaced UUD'45, Pancasila and pembangunan as catch phrases of the emerging order. As the heavy New Order fog lifts, new possibilities for Indonesian society are being discussed, dampened however by severe economic conditions. It is commonly recognised that ways of seeing and interpreting events are often coloured by the outlook and prejudices of the observer, irrespective of the efforts of that observer to remain `objective'. As a broad example, journalists and political scientists will often interpret political events in Indonesia very differently from, say, the sociologist or anthropologist. Why is this so? Suharto resigned on the 21st of May, 1998, the culmination of months of i

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A few notes on my life in Yogyakarta, March-May 1998

 – Reformasi and the Fall of Soeharto

The period March to May 1998 was an interesting time in Indonesian history. This journal reflects some of the things that happened in my life over this period. Some of it is perhaps rather too personal, but that was the nature of my encounter with Indonesian culture over that time. It is by no means comprehensive; a great many important events -- both personal and public -- I chose not to write about. Some names have been changed to protect peoples privacy. Like most journals, it starts strangely and ends abruptly. 12 Mar 98 I called Yuni tonight. My lack of a religion is causing her great problems. For some reason she doesn’t want to talk to anyone else about this problem, which is to say, the problem of my religion, or more precisely, my lack of one. This is Indonesia, after all. Not having a religion means you’re a communist. Simple really. 13 Mar 98 Yuni

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