This course will focus on political, social and economic aspects of Indonesia’s decentralisation program after 1999. Emphasising the importance of studying Indonesia’s regions in order to understand the nature of the post-Suharto state as a whole, the course will explain the declining power of the central government vis-à-vis the provinces, districts and municipalities. Based on several case studies, the course demonstrates the implications of Indonesia’s decentralised structures for electoral competition, distribution of executive authority, fiscal planning and cultural expressions of local identities.

At the end of the course, students will have gained a thorough understand-

ing of political, economic and social dimensions of the decentralisation 

process in Indonesia.. They will have obtained in-depth and up-to-date 

knowledge of the conflicts involved in this process, and will have studied

 Indonesian government responses to them. In addition, students will have 

deepened their analytical and presentational skills, preparing them for 

future professional work in government, think tanks, intelligence, academia

or development agencies.

Proposed Assessment: Tutorial  attendance and participation 10%,  tutorial  presentation 15%,  tutorial  paper (1000 words) 15%, main essay (2000 words) 30%, take-home  exam: 30%