ABSTRACT
After achieving full independence in 1949, the Indonesians experienced tremendous difficulties in creating and operating viable political systems. Whereas the Filipinos, Burmese, and Malaysians had considerable experience with representative institutions during the colonial era, the Indonesians had very little. Before World War II, the Dutch held the majority of seats in the colony’s legislature, though they constituted less than 1 percent of the population. Under Dutch rule, political institutions did not develop in an atmosphere of individual freedom.
