Woolgar, M. orcid.org/0000-0001-8824-9860 (2025) Introduction. In: Communism, Cold War, and Revolution: The Indonesian Communist Party in West Java, 1949-1966. Oxford University Press , Oxford, UK , pp. 1-37. ISBN 9780198954446
Abstract
The Introduction argues that the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI) in the 1950s and 1960s can be understood in terms of an ‘archipelagic communism’ that combined impressive growth and scale amid broader shifts in global communism and extreme local diversity. In doing so, it engages with scholarship emphasizing pluralism in the global histories of communism, the Cold War, and revolution. It suggests that a focus on the PKI’s destruction has curtailed consideration of the party’s experience during the preceding years. It argues the PKI was a revolutionary organization but also a movement that gained dynamism from energies emerging from below. It highlights the party’s adaptability, its ability to weave itself into Indonesia’s social fabric, and its efforts to tackle poverty and inequality. It also notes that the party’s growth encouraged a formidable coalition of forces to coalesce against it. The Introduction also explains the sources used in the book, the significance of a West Java case study, and the book’s structure.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | Indonesian Communist Party, PKI, archipelagic communism, communism, Cold War, revolution, West Java |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of History (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Oct 2024 14:27 |
Last Modified: | 05 Jun 2025 15:42 |
Published Version: | https://academic.oup.com/book/60018/chapter-abstra... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/oso/9780198954446.003.0001 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:217967 |