Merdeka

Under the slogan ‘Merdeka!’, the Republic of Indonesia rushed into a battle for independence – a struggle whose outcome no one could predict. Harry Poeze and Henk Schulte Nordholt provide a new narrative about the revolution, focusing not only on the fight against the Dutch but also on the precarious rise of the Republic."

After the horrors of the Japanese occupation, the Republican leaders needed to somehow build a new state. From the Dutch side, they had to deal with short-sighted politicians and warmongering soldiers. On its own side, the Republic was confronted with wayward and combative youths, autonomous military leaders, conservative federalists, revolutionary communists, and radical Muslims. Coup d’états, a civil war and two Dutch military attacks threatened the survival of the Republic. That is why the victory finally achieved by the Indonesian leaders is the revolution’s greatest miracle.