After the fall of Suharto’s New Order, the unity of Indonesia can no longer be taken for granted. Emergent regionalism has been challenging the unity and stability of the state, and has led to central-government approval of a regional-autonomy plan to respond to regional demands. The plan is expected to devolve political power beyond Java some time in 2001.

Beyond Java, which contains chapters by specialists working in various regions of Indonesia, highlights the impact of moves towards regional autonomy and examines how each local society has responded to its problems in relation to the processes of decentralisation. Each chapter focuses on an analysis of the processes of negotiation and contestation of regional societies in achieving political, social and cultural autonomy within Indonesia. Issues of resource management, political and cultural decentralisation, and ethnic and local identities are among key themes that run through the book. This volume differs from previous studies in regional autonomy, whose focuses have been on analyses of regional-autonomy plans from the viewpoint of public policy and governance, rather than on the presentation of regional perspectives and specific cases. Beyond Java, on the other hand, approaches regionalism as an interplay between the state and local societies, and thus aims to explore ‘views from below’ and how they contribute to discourses and practices of regional autonomy at local and national levels. This is truly a ground-breaking volume.

The chapters contain regional perspectives, some by local activists, with analyses of the implications of the regional-autonomy plan from institutional, economic and legal points of view. The viability of the regional-autonomy plan will be examined, along with the practical context of the proposal.

Regionalism and local identities are of crucial importance, not only for scholars working on Indonesia, but also for the defence and security of its neighbouring countries. Any break-up of Indonesia would have immediate political, economic and security consequences for Australia and the entire Asia-Pacific region. In this light, Beyond Java will have a wide readership, appealing to undergraduate and senior scholars of Indonesian politics, history and anthropology, and to government officials and defence personnel concerned with the national security of countries in the Asia-Pacific. It is one of the most significant collection of essays to shed light on the contested nature of the unity of the Indonesian state in post-Suharto Indonesia.