The ANU Southeast Asia Institute Research Seminar Series is a recurring seminar series that showcases the work of scholars within the ANU working on political, social and cultural issues in Southeast Asia, with the goal of encouraging greater exchange, collaboration and networking amongst the research community.
Contact the ANU Southeast Asia Institute Research Seminar Series Conveners:
- Deepak Nair at deepak.nair@anu.edu.au
- Nicholas Chan at waiyeap.chan@anu.edu.au
Suharto’s Cold War: Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the World
In Suharto’s Cold War, Mattias Fibiger argues that the Indonesian dictator Suharto used the global Cold War to wage his own domestic and regional Cold Wars. Suharto mobilised international aid and investment to construct a counterrevolutionary dictatorship and promote economic development in Indonesia. He then sought to propagate authoritarian reaction elsewhere in Southeast Asia to contain the threat posed by communist China. This talk makes the case for understanding the New Order as both a product of the international system and an agent of change within the international system.
Event Speakers
Associate Professor Mattias Fibiger
Mattias Fibiger is Associate Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. A historian by training, he conducts research on international relations and political economy in twentieth-century Southeast Asia.