Harvard University Asia Center organized a discussion series entitled Southeast Asia Lecture Series on Tuesday, September 28th, 2021, Farabi Fakih, one of the history lecturers at Gadjah Mada University, was the speaker of the discussion. The topic of the discussion was The Rise of Managerial State in Post-Independence Indonesia (1950-1965). The discussion started at 10.00 EST or 21.00 WIB on the Zoom platform and was attended by 56 participants. Farabi presented a summary of his book entitled Authoritarian Modernization in Indonesia’s Early Independence Period: The Foundation of the New Order State (1950-1965). More specifically, Fakih talked the authoritarian modernization under Soekarno’s rule.
Fakih opened the discussion session by discussion about Indonesian historiography and period during the transition to the New Order period. Based on his historical research, the period marked the beginning of state development with an emphasis on the shift from Liberal Democracy (1950-1957) to Guided Democracy (1957-1965). In addition, guided democracy is also a form of application of American-style managerial ideology. In the discussion, Fakih also touched upon how American ideas on the scientific management and economic management of development were imported, localized, and re-adapted to build the foundations of the later New Order state.
After the presentation by Fakih, the discussion continued with drawing conclusions as well as providing responses. Mattias E. Fibiger, assistant Professor at Harvard Business School, as the discussant concluded the material that had been presented by Fakih. In addition, Mattias also gave responses and questions to Fakih’s presentation. The presentation was then followed with a session of question and answer in which participants gave many critical questions and comments to the speaker and discussant. The discussion ended by Mattias at 11:00 a.m. EST or 10:00 p.m.