“An Empty Start to the 2019 Indonesian Election Campaign.” by Max Lane.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  A primary feature of Indonesia’s transactional politics since 2014 has been the shallowness of policy and ideological discourse.  The public process of the formation of coalitions in support of presidential candidates Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto were marked by transactionalism regarding electoral standing rather than ideological and policy differences, and this […]

Jim Percy, 1948-1992 

Jim Percy, 1948-1992  Jim Percy, national president of the Democratic Socialist Party, died quietly as a result of cancer, at his home in Sydney on October 12. He was 43 years old and had devoted 27 years of his life to revolutionary socialist politics. Like so many of his generation, Jim came into radical politics […]

Kedaulatan ekonomi, radikalisme, terorisme, Pancasila, toleransi, dan populisme Islam: Wawancara dengan Max Lane oleh PUSAT KAJIAN SENI DAN BUDAYA KONTEMPORER

“Beragam isu berkembang melalui media-media nasional Indonesia, di tahun-tahun politik yang panas. Mulai kedaulatan ekonomi, radikalisme, terorisme, Pancasila, toleransi, dan populisme Islam. Seolah Indonesia diguncang dalam kondisi gawat. Benarkah begitu? Bagaimanakah sebenarnya keadaan Indonesia saat ini, terutama politik dan budayanya? Simak wawancara kami dengan Max Lane, seorang aktivis dan pengamat Indonesia dari Australia, penulis buku […]

Max Lane: Why is Indonesia afraid to teach Pramodeya in school?

Reza Gunadha – Many academics, intellectuals and Indonesian youth can speak fluently on the historical ideas of ancient Greece and modern Europe. But when speaking about the history of their own nation, they are unsure and hesitant or just parrot historical texts or mainstream literature and thus fail to understand the history of their own […]

Trade Unions’ Initiative To Create Alternative Political Force in  Indonesia. by Max Lane

Trade Unions’ Initiative To Create Alternative Political Force in Indonesia. by Max Lane “Five trade union confederations organised a conference in April 2018 that brought together like-minded progressive trade unions, non-government organisations, student activists and political groups, to push for an alternative political force which would be independent of the two major power blocs led by President […]

1965 – A Crime of Anticommunism by Max Lane

A new book proves that the Indonesian army was responsible for the systematic slaughter of leftists in the 1965–66 genocide — and that orders came directly from the top. Jess Melvin’s new book, The Army and the Indonesian Genocide, has been rightly hailed as a breakthrough. Uncovering the actors behind the mass murder of hundreds of thousands […]

Reposting: Indonesia: 1965 and the Counter-Revolution against the Nation.

Indonesia:  1965 and the Counter-Revolution against the Nation. By Max Lane +++ “The impact of the counter-revolution was, however, even deeper than the sum of these combined policies – from mass murder and terror to totalitarian imposed ignorance and passivity. The 1965 counter-revolution was a pre-emptive purge aimed at the prevention of the final unfolding […]

Aussie Sketch: Smokey Chilli Politics by Max Lane

It was a big room, as hotel rooms go. That hotel was famous for its large rooms. Big beds also. It was in the centre of Jakarta. On the roof was a very big swimming pool. But no garden surrounds, just concrete. Good for swimmers, but not for those who wanted to muck around in […]