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REVIEW OF DANIEL NOVOTNY’S TORN BETWEEN AMERICA AND CHINA Kris Wijoyo Soepandji
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Indonesia is the largest country, in terms of area and population, in Southeast Asia. It is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (or, ASEAN) and has always been a vital player in the region. Indonesia is also expected to be among the top 10 major economic players in the world by 2020. However, its development is the least exposed compared to other countries in the region. In this book, Novotny attempts to illuminate one important issue which plays a critical role in Indonesia’s development, particularly its foreign policy. Shaped by the Cold War perspective, Indonesia’s relationship with the United States has always been better than its relationship with China. After the failed coup attempt by the Indonesian Communist Party in 1965, supported by the Chinese Communist Party, Indonesia’s relationship with China was halted until the end of 1980’s. However, the United States’ embargo policy on Indonesia for military support to East Timor has shaped a negative opinion of the US. This was exacerbated during the Bush administration, resulting in escalated tensions with Islamic countries. Through this book, Novotny highlights the pertinence of Indonesia’s foreign policy in relation to US and China for countries within the region. Novotny provides an in-depth analysis on how Indonesia’s elite policymakers engage the US and China. His analysis is primarily based on the Balance-ofThreat Theory. The author finds that Indonesia’s foreign policy decision-making in the post-Suharto era is made more complex because of the diversity of the players. This diversity poses great challenges in building a unified national interest. The author also draws from historical perspective, including Indonesia’s relationship with China in the past and the US’ involvement in Indonesia’s independence movement. The author makes an interesting point – the former President of Indonesia was never concerned about US dominant role in the
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Kris Wijoyo Soepandji is a graduate student of Public Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He has worked for Indonesian Railways and Wilmar International. He graduated with Bachelor of Law from University of Indonesia.
ASIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS VOL. 5. NO. 2