Every political aspirant and activist knows the media are important. But there is little agreement on how an increasingly diversified media operate in post-authoritarian transitions and how they might promote, or impede, the pathways to a sustainable liberal democracy in the 21st century. This book examines the role of the media during Indonesia's longest experiment with democratisation. It addresses two important and related questions: how is the media being transformed, both in terms of its structure and content, by the changing political economy of Indonesia after the fall of Suharto? And what is the potential impact of this media in enabling or hampering the development of democracy in Indonesia? The book explores the relation between the working of democratisation, by examining the role of ethnic identity and nationalism; increasingly cheaper and diversified means of media production, challenging state monopolies of the media; the reality of personalised and globalised media; and the challenging of the connection between a free media and democracy by global capitalism and corporate control of the media. The book argues that the dominant forces transforming Indonesia today did not arise from the singular point of Suharto's resignation, but from a set of factors which are independent from, but linked to, Indonesia's internal politics and which shape its cultural industries.

Every political aspirant and activist knows the media are important. But there is little agreement on how an increasingly diversified media operate in post-authoritarian transitions and how they might promote, or impede, the pathways to a sustainable liberal democracy in the 21st century. This book examines the role of the media during Indonesia 's longest experiment with democratisation. It addresses two important and related questions: how is the media being transformed, both in terms of its structure and content, by the changing political economy of Indonesia after the fall of Suharto? And what is the potential impact of this media in enabling or hampering the development of democracy in Indonesia?

The book explores the relation between the working of democratisation, by examining the role of ethnic identity and nationalism; increasingly cheaper and diversified means of media production, challenging state monopolies of the media; the reality of personalised and globalised media; and the challenging of the connection between a free media and democracy by global capitalism and corporate control of the media. The book argues that the dominant forces transforming Indonesia today did not arise from the singular point of Suharto 's resignation, but from a set of factors which are independent from, but linked to, Indonesia 's internal politics and which shape its cultural industries.

This book analyzes the relationship between political power and the media in a range of nation states in East and Southeast Asia, focusing in particular on the place of the media in authoritarian and post-authoritarian regimes. It discusses the centrality of media in sustaining repressive regimes, and the key role of the media in the transformation and collapse of such regimes. It questions in particular the widely held beliefs, that the state can have complete control over the media consumption of its citizens, that commercialization of the media necessarily leads to democratization, and that the transnational, liberal dimensions of western media are crucial for democratic movements in Asia. Countries covered include Burma, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Series Information:
Asia's Transformations/RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Asia's Transformations

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415164710

This book analyzes the relationship between political power and the media in a range of nation states in East and Southeast Asia, focusing in particular on the place of the media in authoritarian and post-authoritarian regimes. It discusses the centrality of media in sustaining repressive regimes, and the key role of the media in the transformation and collapse of such regimes. It questions in particular the widely held beliefs, that the state can have complete control over the media consumption of its citizens, that commercialization of the media necessarily leads to democratization, and that the transnational, liberal dimensions of western media are crucial for democratic movements in Asia. Countries covered include Burma, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Internet in Indonesia's New Democracy is a detailed study of legal, economic, political and cultural practices surrounding the provision and consumption of the Internet in Indonesia at the turn of the twenty-first century. Hill and Sen detail the emergence of the Internet into Indonesia in the mid-1990s, and cover its growth through the dramatic economic and political crises of 1997 and the subsequent transition to democracy. Conceptually the Internet is seen as a global phenomenon, with global implications, however this book develops a way of thinking about the Internet within the limits of geo-political categories of nations and provinces. The political turmoil in Indonesia provides a unique context in which to understand the specific local and national consequences of a global, universal technology.

Media, Culture, and Politics in Indonesia is about the institutions and policies that determine what Indonesians write, read, watch, and hear. It covers the print media, broadcast radio and television, computers and the internet, videos, films and music. This book argues that the texts of the media can be understood in two broad ways: . as records of a "national" culture and political hegemony constructed by Suharto's New Order . as contradictory, dissident, political and cultural aspirations that reflect the anxieties and preoccupations of Indonesian citizens. Media, Culture, and Politics, now brought back to life as a member of Equinox Publishing's Classic Indonesia series, explains what has escaped state control, not only by self-conscious resistance, but also because of the ownership patterns, technologies, and modes of consumption of media texts and institutions. The role of the media in the downfall of Suharto is examined and the legacy of his New Order is analyzed. This dynamic and innovative text is suitable for all students of Indonesian languages and culture, Asian studies, Southeast Asian studies, cultural studies, media studies, and contemporary politics. Krishna Sen is Professor of Asian Media and Dean of the Humanities Research Centre at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia David T. Hill is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies and Fellow of the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia