We're in the midst of putting the finishing touches to an exciting new book on Indonesia - just in time for the Indonesian presidential elections (we hope!). The book will be titled Indonesia Rising: Islam, Democracy and the Rise of Indonesia as a Major Power. It will examine Indonesia’s journey towards democracy and describes the roles its leaders, elites and Constitution have played in building and rebuilding the nation through different perceptions and interpretations of democracy.

The author is Dr Nasir Tamara, an expert on Indonesian politics and development. He was educated in University of Paris, France where he received his MA in Political Sciences and, later, his PhD in Southeast Asian History and Anthropology. He was appointed a Fellow at Harvard University’s Centre for International Affairs under the late Professor Samuel Huntington and also at Oxford University’s Queen Elizabeth House. Dr Tamara has extensive experience in the media as founder and Deputy Chief Editor of Republika Daily, Chief Editor of Warta Ekonomi and Capital, foreign correspondent for Tempo Magazine and Sinar Harapan Daily and founder and CEO of Global TV in Jakarta.

The book will be edited by Tan Danfeng, one of our directors.

In the book, Dr Tamara will examine the incredible transformation in Indonesia's political system over the last decade. Who could have imagined circa 1997 that less than 13 years later, there would be a US-style TV debate by the presidential candidates, and the openness and vibrancy seen throughout this presidential election campaigning. As Hillary Clinton remarked recently on her visit to Indonesia as US Secretary of State, Indonesia has shown that "Islam, democracy and modernity" can thrive together.

We're in the midst of putting the finishing touches to an exciting new book on Indonesia - just in time for the Indonesian presidential elections (we hope!). The book will be titled Indonesia Rising: Islam, Democracy and the Rise of Indonesia as a Major Power. It will examine Indonesia’s journey towards democracy and describes the roles its leaders, elites and Constitution have played in building and rebuilding the nation through different perceptions and interpretations of democracy.

The author is Dr Nasir Tamara, an expert on Indonesian politics and development. He was educated in University of Paris, France where he received his MA in Political Sciences and, later, his PhD in Southeast Asian History and Anthropology. He was appointed a Fellow at Harvard University’s Centre for International Affairs under the late Professor Samuel Huntington and also at Oxford University’s Queen Elizabeth House. Dr Tamara has extensive experience in the media as founder and Deputy Chief Editor of Republika Daily, Chief Editor of Warta Ekonomi and Capital, foreign correspondent for Tempo Magazine and Sinar Harapan Daily and founder and CEO of Global TV in Jakarta.

The book will be edited by Tan Danfeng, one of our directors.

In the book, Dr Tamara will examine the incredible transformation in Indonesia's political system over the last decade. Who could have imagined circa 1997 that less than 13 years later, there would be a US-style TV debate by the presidential candidates, and the openness and vibrancy seen throughout this presidential election campaigning. As Hillary Clinton remarked recently on her visit to Indonesia as US Secretary of State, Indonesia has shown that "Islam, democracy and modernity" can thrive together.

Here are three more books on Indonesia that are not quite academic books, but nonetheless provide insights on Indonesia and Indonesian society:

• Silenced Voices: Uncovering A Family's Colonial History In Indonesia by Inez Hollander. This is an account by a California University teacher of her forbears, a Dutch family long settled in colonial Indonesia. The focus is mainly on their experiences in WWII and in the final years before independence. While information has often been all but unobtainable it becomes clear that many members of the family suffered and died in horrific circumstances over which a blanket of silence has long been maintained. Reasons behind the silences, and the controversies which surround this period of Indonesia/Dutch history are discussed.

• Eight Prison Camps: A Dutch Family In Japanese Java by Dieuwke Wendelaar Bonga. The author of this book was born in Holland in 1925. She left for Indonesia with her family as a three-year-old, and enjoyed a idyllic childhood in Java. All that soon changed for in the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Dutch nationals were rounded up by the Japanese soldiers and put in internment camps. In these camps, the author witnessed starvation, forced labour, torture and death. On the family's return to Holland after the war, she found a nation that was recovering from German occupation and ignorant of the horror of the war in the Far East. The author decided to write about her experiences in the Indonesian P.O.W camps to document for her own children and for posterity the savage nature of war.

• Reporting Indonesia: The Jakarta Post Story 1983-2008 by Bill Tarrant. The Jakarta Post was born in 1983 when Suharto's repressive New Order regime was at its height and the media was muzzled. Five rival media companies came together to start an English-language daily that some saw as an experiment doomed to fail. But the newspaper's punchy editorials, clean presentation of the news, and quirky columns and features quickly made an impression with the growing expatriate community. Over the years, the Post developed a unique editorial culture of expatriates and multicultural Indonesians. And by the time Suharto was ousted, the newspaper had earned a reputation for testing the limits of censorship and for breaking stories. This book traces the birth and growth of a newspaper in a developing country against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of the past 25 years in the world's fourth-largest nation. The story of this newspaper illuminates conflicting themes about journalism in Indonesia while taking the reader behind the scenes to reveal intrigue in the boardroom and stresses in the newsroom.

Here are three more books on Indonesia that are not quite academic books, but nonetheless provide insights on Indonesia and Indonesian society:

• Silenced Voices: Uncovering A Family's Colonial History In Indonesia by Inez Hollander. This is an account by a California University teacher of her forbears, a Dutch family long settled in colonial Indonesia. The focus is mainly on their experiences in WWII and in the final years before independence. While information has often been all but unobtainable it becomes clear that many members of the family suffered and died in horrific circumstances over which a blanket of silence has long been maintained. Reasons behind the silences, and the controversies which surround this period of Indonesia/Dutch history are discussed.

• Eight Prison Camps: A Dutch Family In Japanese Java by Dieuwke Wendelaar Bonga. The author of this book was born in Holland in 1925. She left for Indonesia with her family as a three-year-old, and enjoyed a idyllic childhood in Java. All that soon changed for in the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Dutch nationals were rounded up by the Japanese soldiers and put in internment camps. In these camps, the author witnessed starvation, forced labour, torture and death. On the family's return to Holland after the war, she found a nation that was recovering from German occupation and ignorant of the horror of the war in the Far East. The author decided to write about her experiences in the Indonesian P.O.W camps to document for her own children and for posterity the savage nature of war.

• Reporting Indonesia: The Jakarta Post Story 1983-2008 by Bill Tarrant. The Jakarta Post was born in 1983 when Suharto's repressive New Order regime was at its height and the media was muzzled. Five rival media companies came together to start an English-language daily that some saw as an experiment doomed to fail. But the newspaper's punchy editorials, clean presentation of the news, and quirky columns and features quickly made an impression with the growing expatriate community. Over the years, the Post developed a unique editorial culture of expatriates and multicultural Indonesians. And by the time Suharto was ousted, the newspaper had earned a reputation for testing the limits of censorship and for breaking stories. This book traces the birth and growth of a newspaper in a developing country against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of the past 25 years in the world's fourth-largest nation. The story of this newspaper illuminates conflicting themes about journalism in Indonesia while taking the reader behind the scenes to reveal intrigue in the boardroom and stresses in the newsroom.

We had a recent post listing several book on Indonesia. Those books were mostly serious academic works. This time around, we thought we would list several books that similarly address important and contentious issues in Indonesian society and politics, but are somewhat lighter and more accessible.

• Bittersweet: The Memoir Of A Chinese Indonesian Family In The Twentieth Century by Stuart Pearson. Many sidelights onto social and political developments are shed in this family biography/memoir which centres on the life of Chinese Indonesian Anna/An Sudibjo (b.1912). She is a 5th-generation Indonesian Chinese and had a distinguished career in the Dutch and then Indonesian Education Department.

• Family Business: A Case Study Of Nyonya Meneer, One Of Indonesia's Most Successful Traditional Medicine Companies by Asih Sumardono and Mark Hanusz. The inside story of the now-internationally known Nyonya Meneer business, which produces and markets jamu, traditional Indonesian medicines. Founded by Nyonya Meneer (Lauw Ping Nio, 1895-1978), the family firm grew from its Semarang beginnings to become a nationally and internationally significant company. This account of Nyonya Meneer and the family conflicts which have dogged the company's development offers insights into some of the realities of traditional and modern ways of doing business.

• On Feminism And Nationalism: Kartini's Letters To Stella Zeehandelaar, 1899-1903. Translated by Joost Cote. Raden Ajeng Kartini (1880-1904) was born into an aristocratic Javanese family and despite the shortness of her life, is widely known and respected as the founder and inspiration of Indonesia's Women's Movement. These letters to a Dutch pen friend she had never met were written 1899-1903. They show the clear educational and reform ambitions maintained by Kartini who, by enforced custom, had left school at the age of 12, but who continued to read, study and develop nationalist and feminist ideas. These she shared with reform-minded contacts. Her arranged marriage was followed by her death shortly after childbirth.

We had a recent post listing several book on Indonesia. Those books were mostly serious academic works. This time around, we thought we would list several books that similarly address important and contentious issues in Indonesian society and politics, but are somewhat lighter and more accessible.

• Bittersweet: The Memoir Of A Chinese Indonesian Family In The Twentieth Century by Stuart Pearson. Many sidelights onto social and political developments are shed in this family biography/memoir which centres on the life of Chinese Indonesian Anna/An Sudibjo (b.1912). She is a 5th-generation Indonesian Chinese and had a distinguished career in the Dutch and then Indonesian Education Department.

• Family Business: A Case Study Of Nyonya Meneer, One Of Indonesia's Most Successful Traditional Medicine Companies by Asih Sumardono and Mark Hanusz. The inside story of the now-internationally known Nyonya Meneer business, which produces and markets jamu, traditional Indonesian medicines. Founded by Nyonya Meneer (Lauw Ping Nio, 1895-1978), the family firm grew from its Semarang beginnings to become a nationally and internationally significant company. This account of Nyonya Meneer and the family conflicts which have dogged the company's development offers insights into some of the realities of traditional and modern ways of doing business.

• On Feminism And Nationalism: Kartini's Letters To Stella Zeehandelaar, 1899-1903. Translated by Joost Cote. Raden Ajeng Kartini (1880-1904) was born into an aristocratic Javanese family and despite the shortness of her life, is widely known and respected as the founder and inspiration of Indonesia's Women's Movement. These letters to a Dutch pen friend she had never met were written 1899-1903. They show the clear educational and reform ambitions maintained by Kartini who, by enforced custom, had left school at the age of 12, but who continued to read, study and develop nationalist and feminist ideas. These she shared with reform-minded contacts. Her arranged marriage was followed by her death shortly after childbirth.

With the Indonesian general elections just completed, and the presidential election forthcoming, here are 5 books focusing on the state of Indonesian politics and democracy.

• Indonesia, Islam, And Democracy: Dynamics In A Global Context by Azyumardi Azra, an internationally respected historian. It explores explores Islam and Democracy and the democratizing and civil society policies of President Abdurrahman Wahab; addresses Islam and Indonesia's international dimensions and policies; and looks at the dynamics of the country's various Islamic movements and trends and also at recent elections.

• Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia by Zachary Abuza presents a penetrating new investigation of religious radicalism in Indonesia. Indonesia is long known for its diversity and tolerant brand of Islam, but since the fall of Suharto, a more intolerant form of Islam has been growing, one whose adherents have carried out terrorist attacks, waged sectarian war, and voiced strident anti-Western rhetoric. Abuza paints a picture guardedly optimistic about the future of Indonesian democracy, with concerns about the increasing role of conservative and radical Islam in Indonesian society.

• The Revival of Tradition In Indonesian Politics: The Deployment of Adat from Colonialism to Indigenism by Jamie Davidson and David Henley. The Indonesian term adat means 'custom' or 'tradition', and carries connotations of sedate order and harmony. Yet in recent years it has suddenly become associated with activism, protest and violence. This book investigates the revival of adat in Indonesian politics, identifying its origins, the historical factors that have conditioned it and the reasons behind its recent blossoming.

• The Indonesian Parliament And Democratization by Patrick Ziegenhai. Democratisation in Indonesia has altered the political decision-making processes in many ways. It has also brought about tremendous change to the role of the Indonesian parliament in the country's political system. Once characterized as a powerless rubber stamp, the parliament has developed into a comprehensive and more representative body. Ziegenhai addresses the parliament's contributions towards the process of democratisation in Indonesia.

• Military Politics, Islam, and the State in Indonesia: From Turbulent Transition to Democratic Consolidation by Marcus Mietzner. This book provides an in-depth account of the military's struggle to adapt to the new democratic system after the downfall of Suharto's regime in 1998. Unlike other studies of the Indonesian armed forces, which focus exclusively on internal military developments, Mietzner's study emphasises the importance of conflicts among civilians in determining the extent of military involvement in political affairs.

With the Indonesian general elections just completed, and the presidential election forthcoming, here are 5 books focusing on the state of Indonesian politics and democracy.

• Indonesia, Islam, And Democracy: Dynamics In A Global Context by Azyumardi Azra, an internationally respected historian. It explores explores Islam and Democracy and the democratizing and civil society policies of President Abdurrahman Wahab; addresses Islam and Indonesia's international dimensions and policies; and looks at the dynamics of the country's various Islamic movements and trends and also at recent elections.

• Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia by Zachary Abuza presents a penetrating new investigation of religious radicalism in Indonesia. Indonesia is long known for its diversity and tolerant brand of Islam, but since the fall of Suharto, a more intolerant form of Islam has been growing, one whose adherents have carried out terrorist attacks, waged sectarian war, and voiced strident anti-Western rhetoric. Abuza paints a picture guardedly optimistic about the future of Indonesian democracy, with concerns about the increasing role of conservative and radical Islam in Indonesian society.

• The Revival of Tradition In Indonesian Politics: The Deployment of Adat from Colonialism to Indigenism by Jamie Davidson and David Henley. The Indonesian term adat means 'custom' or 'tradition', and carries connotations of sedate order and harmony. Yet in recent years it has suddenly become associated with activism, protest and violence. This book investigates the revival of adat in Indonesian politics, identifying its origins, the historical factors that have conditioned it and the reasons behind its recent blossoming.

• The Indonesian Parliament And Democratization by Patrick Ziegenhai. Democratisation in Indonesia has altered the political decision-making processes in many ways. It has also brought about tremendous change to the role of the Indonesian parliament in the country's political system. Once characterized as a powerless rubber stamp, the parliament has developed into a comprehensive and more representative body. Ziegenhai addresses the parliament's contributions towards the process of democratisation in Indonesia.

• Military Politics, Islam, and the State in Indonesia: From Turbulent Transition to Democratic Consolidation by Marcus Mietzner. This book provides an in-depth account of the military's struggle to adapt to the new democratic system after the downfall of Suharto's regime in 1998. Unlike other studies of the Indonesian armed forces, which focus exclusively on internal military developments, Mietzner's study emphasises the importance of conflicts among civilians in determining the extent of military involvement in political affairs.