ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the longer colonial and postcolonial historical trajectories of the Bali Style to understand the cultural politics and economic imperatives behind the aesthetics. Instead of understanding the Bali Style as an architectural regionalism produced by a group of cosmopolitan designers and hoteliers from Asia and Australia, this chapter argues that the Bali Style has to be seen in relation to the colonial and postcolonial development of tourism and the concomitant constructions of Balinese tradition in the aftermaths of violent events leading to political regime changes. The Bali Style could thus be understood as a means of anesthetizing the trauma of political conflicts. This chapter also shows that the Bali Style was aligned to both the national and transnational political economic forces of tourism landscape production, and it adhered to the recommendations of key global institutions like the World Bank and the Pacific Area Travel Association in promoting tourism.
