Demokrasi: Indonesia in the 21st Century

McDonald, former Asia-Pacific editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, and author of Suharto's Indonesia, is well positioned to present an accessible introduction to the world's third-largest democracy, a country most Americans know little about. He opens with a concise but clear history, starting in 683 CE with the Sriwijaya empire but focusing on the 20th century, when the name "Indonesia" came into common usage. After providing a solid and balanced portrait of the three decade-plus governance of the Suharto regime (1967-1998), McDonald carries the story forward to the present day, which finds a populace eager for accountability from its elected leaders. Those still uncertain about Indonesia's importance to the US will find evidence here in the form of its growing economy, posed to be the sixth largest in the world by 2030. McDonald's insights%E2%80%94including the observation that Indonesian foreign policy favors "soft" over "hard" power%E2%80%94present clear reasons for the current limits to the country's international influence, and in general his even-handed approach allows for a sober assessment of the state of the country. (Jan.)