This project examines economic, political and social stresses in Indonesia in the 1950s, immediately after the end of the independence struggle and transfer of sovereignty. The project focuses on indigenous entrepreneurship, the emergence of electoral politics and the cultural politics of urban symbols. It is designed as a tripartite scheme of co-operation between historians in Australia (Australian National University, Canberra), Indonesia (Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta) and the Netherlands (University of Leiden).
