Political Change and Violence in the 1940s Indonesia

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K12392
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Yamamoto Nobuto 慶應義塾大学, 法学部(三田), 教授 (50265922)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): チャンドラ エリザベス 慶應義塾大学, 法学部(三田), 講師(非常勤) (80726753)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: インドネシア / 政治変動 / 暴力 / 1940年代

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research aims to provide a historical explanation of the relationship between political regime changes and violence in 1940s Indonesia. Throughout this period, the country experienced four significant political shifts: the transition from Dutch colonial rule to Japanese military administration, followed by Indonesian independence, the partial return of Dutch control, and ultimately, Indonesia’s acquisition of sovereignty. This study utilizing a comprehensive approach that involves collecting and analyzing newspapers from Indonesia (in Indonesian and Chinese), as well as scrutinizing documents and testimonies archived by the post-war Dutch government. After examining documents thoroughly I became to think that it is useful to conceptualize the political regime in place since the late 1930s as a series of wartime regimes. This research aims to shed light on the interconnected chain of violence that occurred during the turbulent era of regime changes in 1940s Indonesia.

Free Research Field

東南アジア地域研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

1．政治変動と暴力との関係に新しい視角の提示。従来の研究は政治体制の変動後における暴力、すなわち政治変動が暴力を誘発するという前提に立っていた。それに対して本研究では、政治変動の「前」における暴力の事実に着目し、その要因、メカニズム、政治的含意に着目した。
2．新しい分析概念の提示。本研究では、戦時体制という概念を導入することで、1940年代のインドネシアを一つの時代として捉える可能性を提示した。戦時体制概念によって、インドネシアではヨーロッパとアジアでの戦争と関係するという二段階の特殊環境を生み出したことを提示した。