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.