The Role of the Armed Forces in Indonesia

<p>Indonesia is a strategically important country rich in natural resources sitting astride a critical chokepoint the Strait of Malacca. Demographically it holds the important distinctions of being the fourth most populous country in the world and the world's most populous Muslim country. Traditionally Indonesia has embraced pancasila a secular tradition which respects all religions equally not favoring one over another. The first portion of this paper defines fundamentalism explores the Indonesian version and what role the armed forces plays in preventing the spread of fundamentalism. The second section examines military professionalism comparing the Indonesian variety to the Western model and what role this professionalism plays in national stability. Inferring that the military enhances stability the final section examines the country's stability from an empirical viewpoint. Indonesia emerged from the thirty-plus year Suharto dictatorship in 1998. Throughout Suharto's rule the military proved to be a substantial element of his power base yet fissures in this base helped contribute to Suharto's demise. Since 1998 various political parties have flexed their muscle as they jockey for position in the nation's new democratic hierarchy. Of these parties those with a fundamentalist orientation prove worrisome from the United States' perspective in the Global War on Terrorism. Terrorist attacks carried out by fundamentalist groups in Bali and Jakarta in recent years highlight the potential threat. The Indonesian military the TNI has embraced the notion of dwifungsi or dual role in its complex interaction with Indonesia's people and government. This dual role ensured the military's omniscient role in politics and the economy particularly in the Suharto era. Using Professor Samuel Huntington's model of the western military professionalism we clearly see that this dual role has resulted in questionable professionalism in the TNI. Consequently now th<br>democ</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>