As President Suharto approaches the end of his sixth term in office in 1998, a fierce debate about the future of the political order in Indonesia is under way. Douglas E. Ramage argues that questions about the legitimacy of Suharto's New Order government, the crucial relationship between Islam and the state, the role of the armed forced in politics and the potential for democracy now dominate a dynamic national political debate. Based on interviews with important political figures, his book describes the key players in the current political scene and analyses relations to the national ideology, the Pancasila. It also accesses the political possibilities for the future.

Politics in Indonesia describes the attitudes, aspirations and frustrations of the key players in Indonesian politics as they struggle to shape the future. The book focuses on the role of political Islam; Douglas E. Ramage shows that the state has been remarkably successful in maintaining secular political institutions in a predominantly Muslim society. He analyses the way in which political questions are framed with reference to the national ideology, the Pancasila.