Realpolitik Ideology

About this book

Realpolitik Ideology presents path-breaking research on the Indonesian military (TNI) going beyond traditional scholarship on the TNI's dual function or dwifungsi which has been one of the dominating fields of analysis in Indonesian studies since the 1970s. Addressed to political scientists, sociologists, historians, anthropologists and defence practitioners, this book interprets security policy in terms of its social roots asserting that the realpolitik behaviour of the TNI has strong "socio-cultural" undertones, which in turn shape the development of military doctrine. The argument made in the book is that only through a better understanding of the doctrines that reinforced the military's significant presence in Indonesian affairs and their subsequent restructuring can Indonesia's policy-makers attempt meaningful reform of the TNI. Readable, accessible and yet exhaustively researched, Realpolitik Ideology examines the origins and development of ideas on security from the point of view of the TNI and explains why civil-military relations are still fraught with uncertainty, and why the recent changes in military ideology, removal of military posts in the legislature, ongoing dives…