Gary Dean: Essays & Articles
This is a selection of some of my essays written over the
past few years. Most of them deal with issues of politics
and culture, often in reference to Indonesia specifically, or to
Asia more generally. If the essay has been published
previously elsewhere then this is noted at the head of the
article. I'm always pleased to receive commentary from
anybody concerning the matters raised (or not raised!)
in these writings.
Indonesia & East Asia
Indonesia is probably not the easiest place in the world in
which to do business. The "World Competitiveness Scoreboard"
currently ranks Indonesia at 45, only two places ahead of Russia
(47), ...
Indonesian Land Law is different to the laws that apply in most
Western or developed countries. Foreigners wishing to use or
purchase land for whatever purpose need to be aware of these
differences and not assume that legal conventions that apply in
their home countries necessarily apply in Indonesia. ...
The past two decades or so has
witnessed the increasing dominance of neoliberal perspectives
within international political, social and economic thinking.
...
The rapid pace of economic
development in East Asia over the past few decades has awed the
world. ...
It has been said that the first casualty of war is the truth.
This is no less true for the inter-communal war currently raging
in Maluku. ...
Culture really matters when doing business, especially in
Indonesia. An understanding of the cultures, outlooks,
perceptions of the people with whom we do business, as well
as an understanding of our own cultures and values, has enormous
real practical application and value. ...
The sun began to set upon
Indonesia's corporatist 'New Order' state starting in the early
1990's. Speculation about the presidential succession was rife,
mainly due to President Soeharto's increasing age and frailty,
and such speculation was especially destabilising and damaging
given Indonesia's historical propensity to rather messy changes
in leadership. ...
The period March to May 1998 was an interesting time in
Indonesian history. This journal reflects some of the things
that happened in my life over this period. Some of it is perhaps
rather too personal, but that was the nature of my encounter
with Indonesian culture over that time. ...
The rapid economic development of the NIEs (Hongkong, Singapore,
South Korea, and Taiwan) over the past three decades has
necessitated the utilisation of external resources, principally
foreign capital. Without such resources, industrialisation
and development on the scale undertaken could simply not have
occurred. These external capital resources have taken the form
of aid, grants, borrowing, and direct foreign investment (FDI).
...
The Western aversion and distrust towards Islam runs deep, in
contrast to how 'friendlier' religions such as Buddhism,
Confucianism and Hinduism are often considered. ...
Joint ventures (JVs) have long been the working foundation upon
which foreign investment has entered many developing countries.
...
To trade is human. Like the
ability to communicate abstract ideas, trade is one of those
activities with differentiates Homo sapiens from the rest of the
animal world. ...
The incantations and vocabulary of the new era are rapidly
taking hold in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto and his New
Order regime. ...
[Who is the right person to
become the President of Indonesia?]
Negara Indonesia adalah suatu negara
besar kalau dilihat dari segi jumlah penduduknya. Catatan
sejarah telah menunjukkan bahwa karena kekayaan alamnya yang
besar telah menarik keinginan banyak bangsa asing untuk
menguasai negara ini. ...
[Honey Tri: a love
story]
Selama hidupnya, Madu Tri suka sekali minum madu. Tanpa madu,
hidup tidaklah punya arti baginya. Madu adalah hakikat dari
eksistensinya. Suatu hal yang tidak bisa disangkal kalau Madu
Tri mengetahui hubungan antara lebah dengan madu. ...
[Must Indonesia utilise Nuclear Energy?] Keinginan Indonesia
untuk membangun Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Nuklir (PLTN)
menimbulkan kegelisahan di seluruh kawasan Asia Tenggara dan
Australia. ...
Australia & Asia-Australia Relations
Since the very beginning of a notion called 'Australia' some 200 years ago, the European occupiers of this continent have rarely felt at peace with its geography. ...
Australians have always felt uncertain about their place in the
world. As a transplanted, predominantly European, society
situated within Asia, Australians have always felt a sense of
threat from the north. ...
It only been these past few
decades that Australia has begun to pursue a relatively
independent foreign policy, from under the shadows Britain and
the US. ...
Brian Toohey's article, "Time
to rout the Jakarta Lobby", was published in The West Australian
on 27 September 1999. This was just four weeks after the East
Timorese autonomy plebiscite. During this period East Timor was
in the process of being laid waste by rather vicious
anti-independence militias backed by the Indonesian military.
...
General Politics
Humanity's political 'state of nature' has characteristically
been defined in terms of small, nomadic family groups with
little need for complex organisational structures. ...
It is frequently alleged that the nation-state in the 1990's is
at a precarious moment of history, poised to somehow inevitably
disintegrate under the pressure of globalisation. ...
In 1867, a few years after the establishment of the
International Working Men's Association, Karl Marx presented his
thoughts on the emergence of capitalism in an essay entitled The
Origins and Development of Capitalism, as part of his wider
discussion on the sociology of capitalism. ...
'Obedience to the Law is Freedom'. Thus declared a sign hung
over a gateway to a US army base in Germany during the 1960's.
...
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