The new emerging forces in Indonesian foreign policy

Abstract

It is no longer revolutionary to suggest that we live in a revolutionary world.' This was the view expressed in 1966 by Manfred Halpern. It has indeed become commonplace to hear that we live in a revolutionary age, that the world is rapidly being transformed, and this has especially been so since the end of the Second World War. As Spanier points out, 'the postwar era has been one of constant change, accompanied by

ferment, turmoil and violence. One of the most striking of the changes that have occurred, and one with which much of the ferment, turmoil and violence has been associated, has been the emergence of the 'new', the 'underdeveloped' or the 'developing' nations These new sovereign states, having obtained their independence from colonial rule, some peacefully, some by force, have been grappling with formidable domestic problems and have been asserting themselves in regional and world affairs. This phenomenon has been described variously, for example, as the 'anti-colonial revolution', the 'revolution of modernization' and the 'revolution of rising expectations', to mention but a few of the terms that have come into common usage.