When analysing forms and features, characteristic for the Indonesian political system under the «new order» headed by General Suharto, the author introduces a concept of a total success in modern Indonesia of a so called «p lace–holding democracy». He shows, that the existence of created from above quasirepresentative political and social institutions (the Parliament, the People’s Consultative Congress, political parties and GOLKAR, trade unions, etc., which are run by the state) is aimed at a creation of a «democratic» make–up for the ruling military–bureaucratic regime, on the one hand, and at «holding the place» (which in political systems of most countries is allocated to political institutions created and filled by masses themselves) in order to prevent the appearance of the latter from below, on the other hand. The result is clear — the regime is becoming more and more authoritarian. Similarly, the ideology of Pancasila, which had played a positive role on the earlier stages of the development of the Indonesian state, has now become a «place–holding» ideology, whose main aim is to prevent the appearance (or the spread) of other, dangerous for the «new order» ideological conceptions, be they of a socialist, fundamentalist‑Islamic, or of an openly capitalist character.
In the final chapters of the textbook an attempt is made to suggest a general scheme of the balance of powers in the ruling, elite of modern Indonesia and to name all the main opposition trends.
Thus, the second volume of the textbook «The History of Indonesia» does not only narrate and comment on the historical events, but also introduces new concepts and approaches. It offers a rich and interesting material for the study of authoritarianism and democracy in the East in general.
The textbook is provided with a chronological index, a list of abbreviations and a list of the recommended historical sources and literature.
