When in 2002 Indonesia established a constitutional court nobody anticipated just how important this new institution was going to be. Its rulings are widely reported and they have had an impact on fields ranging from economic policy...
President Jokowi is popular enough to do without military support. Yet New Order-era soldiers have always been close by his side. Now he has gone one further. Who is Wiranto? In a cabinet reshuffle on 27 July he ...
The Indonesian translation of Soldaat in Indonesië 1945-1950: Getuigenissen van een oorlog aan de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis...
KITLV directeur Gert Oostindie sprak met diverse media over de Indië-herdenking. Op 15 augustus vond in Nederland de jaarlijkse Indië-herdenking plaats. Op die datum in 1945 capituleerde namelijk Japan, waarmee de Tweede Wereldoorlog...
Indonesia’s Chinese authored literature reached its peak of popularity in the 1930s. Access to these unique sources is slowly improving. Tom Hoogervorst escaped Jakarta’s archives for a rendezvous with two passionate...
A special issue of the Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia (Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde) is now available, in print ...
Young people’s desires to become educated and upwardly mobile are often understood as signs of rising affluence and changing markets for education and work in Southeast Asia. Meanings that young people attribute...
The road to Enlightenment is never easy, but for some people it is easier than for others. Last May I visited Borobudur. This giant eighth century Buddhist shrine and world heritage site is located in Indonesia where now ...
Over 3000 historic photographs and prints with images from the Dutch East Indies, China, Japan, Singapore and Suriname from the KITLV were donated to Wikimedia Commons, the image database of Wikipedia,...
Walking through the entrance gate to the shopping street ‘Pasar Baru’, Jakarta, was like stepping into my favourite movie, says Jemma Middleton. I recognised the different shops, the old and new architecture, the way a shopkeeper was advertising...