National Integration In Indonesia

Indonesia's great size and diversity and its history of regional dissension have made its struggle for national integration particularly complex. Christine Drake presents an informed and balanced picture of past and present developments in this struggle, offering readers a realistic assessment of the current status and future prospects of national integration in Indonesia. By addressing historical, political, social, and economic issues in conjunction with statistical analysis, Professor Drake argues that the spatial pattern of integration is far more complex than the commonly accepted core-periphery model of Indonesian integration and development. The author examines the effectiveness of Indonesian government policies in promoting national integration and concludes that in general they have led to greater national unity, although many serious problems remain.

Includes bibliographical references.

This book addresses the negative impact of social cleavages on the development of many African countries. It proposes new ideas on how the development crisis in Africa may be addressed by conceptualizing the underlying problem as a communication issue. In contrast to the frequent neglect of this key factor this book provides a provocative discussion of how communication strategies can help to promote national integration and social, economic and political development. It argues that the activities associated with the communication of national integration must be seen as an all-encompassing task that transcends official speeches in attempts to persuade a disparate population to cultivate national consciousness. Such activities must encompass efforts to persuade leaders to eliminate policies that seek to promote spatial dislocation and cross-cultural interaction, and to arouse the audience to pay closer attention to integrative messages disseminated through the mass media.

Anthology of studies on nationalism and national level politics in South East Asia - examines the social and cultural anthropology of Indonesia, Myanmar, the Lao PDR, North and South Viet Nam, Thailand, the Philippines, etc., conceptions of State and society, the role of religion and political partys, ethnic factors, problems of minority groups, etc., and analyses the role of socialist countries and especially the role of China in southeast Asian politics and culture. Bibliography.