ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Indonesia’s Muslim majority became more influential over time as the state’s evolution toward democracy permitted Muslim interests to gain greater influence in policymaking. It suggests that Indonesia’s propensity to seek a security patron is tempered by its aversion to superpower politics and lack of alliance experience. From the American strategic perspective, Indonesia was viewed as one of the “dominoes” that might fall if Vietnam were overrun by communist forces. In an effort to undermine President Sukarno’s efforts to regain control, military leaders encouraged students to protest over economic conditions in Indonesia, meeting student leaders to discuss plans and circumvent bans on public demonstrations. Indonesian forces moved into mountains to eradicate pro-communist guerrilla strongholds, and by April 1976, the former Portuguese colony was completely controlled by a pro-Indonesian provisional government. Indonesia’s Muslim majority has been a major cultural factor that affected the US –Indonesian relationship, but the impact of this cultural dissimilarity has not been consistent over time.
