Makkinga, Gerbrand
(2023)
Friendship through Coercion.
Research master thesis, Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen.
Abstract
The colonial history of Indonesia, particularly the so-called ‘policing actions’ of 1947-1949, has in the last decade re-entered public discourse, becoming a topic of heated debate. This has prompted discussions on how the Dutch colonial period and the military offensives should be portrayed and understood within the Dutch collective memory. In June 2023, king Willem Alexander issued an apology for the violence of the policing actions while also unofficially recognizing the Indonesian Declaration of Independence in 1945. This recognition meant that the policing actions were an unjustified aggression against a sovereign Indonesia. The reignition of this topic provides a unique opportunity to reexamine this period using new academic perspectives, specifically a post-colonial and discourse-based perspective. This thesis contributes to the ways scholars can understand the legacy of the colonial past by better understanding the justifications of the colonizers and their use of violence.
Following Japan's capitulation in WWII, Indonesian revolutionaries declared independence in 1945 and established the Republic of Indonesia. The Dutch government did not recognize this declaration and aimed to restore Dutch control over the archipelago. Negotiations between the Netherlands and the Republic led to the Linggadjati Agreement in 1947, which aimed to establish the process towards decolonization and the formation of a new Dutch-Indonesian Union. Disagreement on the process towards Indonesian independence eventually led to two bloody military offensives by Dutch colonial forces referred to as the ‘policing actions.’ While death-tolls are highly uncertain, the total number of casualties are estimated by many scholars to be up to 100.000 Indonesians. In contrast, the Dutch military casualties amount to 4.751 people.
The objective of this thesis is to better understand how the confessional parties of the Netherlands understood and desired to portray this violent period. The discourse of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and the Catholic People’s Party (KVP) are analysed and compared to understand the synthesis between politics and religion in relation to the Dutch colonial history and how this shaped the views of their voter-base. The ARP and the KVP were the largest confessional parties in this period. As this thesis aims to analyse discourse, the object of study is not the historical chain of events but rather the portrayal of these events. In other words, the study analyses rhetoric and does not aim to give a historical narrative. The study limits itself to the monthly journals produced by the parties themselves since 1947. These include monthly articles by a group of editors on a variety of topics deemed politically relevant. The study examines the articles published in these journals from April 1947 to February 1950.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Research master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Weir, T.H. | | Faculteit GGW, Christendom en Ideeengeschiedenis | T.H.Weir@rug.nl | | Stuckrad, von, C.K.M. | | Faculteit GGW, Christendom en Ideeengeschiedenis | C.K.M.von.Stuckrad@rug.nl |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen |
| Academic year: |
2022-2023 |
| Date of delivery: |
16 Nov 2023 15:27 |
| Last modified: |
16 Nov 2023 15:27 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/777 |
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