An interpretive look at the economists at the helm of the New Order reveals the intriguing, paradoxical nature of the regime’s brand of conservative modernization and their role as its tormented architects. 

Abstract

Like many other Global South modernizers during the Cold War, Indonesian technocrats – the US-trained economists – faced the challenge of promoting economic growth in postcolonial contexts. Opposing Sukarnoist populism and its hyperinflationary chaos, the technocrats formulated economic policies designed to reintegrate Indonesia into the orbit of global market and capital. Fulfilling their noblesse oblige, they oversaw capitalist reforms under the New Order dictatorship.

Central to their thinking and politics is the following notions: 1) rational planning, 2) embedded liberalism on steroids, and 3) pragmatism. Based on preliminary study of their selected works, this talk offers an interpretive account of the New Order technocrats, the conundrums they faced, and their answers and situate it in broader intellectual history. 

Rational planning emerged as an antidote to the excesses of revolutionary fervor under Guided Democracy. While Cold War liberals and conservatives in the West conceived reason as a gateway drug to statism / totalitarianism, Indonesian technocrats instead saw it as an effective counterpoint to the “populist folly” of Sukarno and the leftists. Reason, manifested in rational capitalist planning and injected with anticolonial sensibilities, was coupled with statesmanship.

Which brought us to the second point: the technocrats as embedded liberals. Political scientist John Ruggie defines embedded liberalism as a postwar project committed to multilateralism, open free trade, and domestic welfare intervention. The technocrats, by and large, subscribed to this vision which they implemented, interestingly, with a zeal, facilitated by the heavy hands of the New Order state.

In practicing economics, the technocrats were also pragmatists. They were inspired by Keynesianism, non-Marxian socialism, and modern economics methods, among other things. This ideational cocktail and their experience in navigating economic challenges and realpolitik during the New Order emboldened their pragmatism.

Nevertheless, the technocrats retained a conservative outlook, rooted in the fear of destructive “ideological” mobilization and preference for a stable politics. Yet, their vision of reason was challenged by the increasingly erratic nature of Suharto’s rule and its authoritarian capitalist development. In the end, they were mugged by realities.

Speaker

Iqra Anugrah is a Trapezio MSCA Seal of Excellence Fellow at the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures at the University of Turin, a Research Fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden, and a Research Associate at the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education, and Information (LP3ES) in Jakarta. An interdisciplinary political theorist, his current project CONTREV investigates multi-strand conservatism in modern Indonesia funded by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.

Discussant

Ward Berenschot is a professor of comparative political anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and a senior researcher at KITLV. Studying politics in India and Indonesia, his research focuses on the role of money and informality in election campaigns, while a second field of research concerns the character of civil society and citizenship in these countries.

Moderator

Sikko Visscher, trained as an historian and social scientist, work at KITLV as a research advisor and liaison officer. He is also a board member and Secretary of the Vereniging (Member Association) KITLV.

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Thursday 5 March from 15.30–17.00 PM (CET).  

Anniversary Seminar Series

In 2026, KITLV will celebrate its 175th anniversary. The Members’ Association / Vereniging KITLV and the Institute KITLV are organizing an Anniversary Seminar Series to mark the occasion.

In the Anniversary Seminar Series, we invite people who have worked at KITLV in the past 25 years, visited us as fellows, or have been involved in joint research projects. Naturally, we strive to cover our wide range of disciplines, topics, and backgrounds. We invite speakers to present current or recent research to an audience of academics and others who are interested. Reflections on whether and how the connection with KITLV has led to or influenced that research are welcome. To cater to an international audience, the series will be in English and can be attended both physically and digitally.

Image

Widjojo Nitisastro (right) at an IGGI meeting in The Hague in June 1983 with Ministers Ali Wardhana (left) and Eegje Schoo. Source: National Archive.

Flyer

PDF format (A3 poster)