Traditional Authority, Islam, and Rebellion

Traditional Authority, Islam, and Rebellion by Karl D. Jackson offers a groundbreaking analysis of political integration and rural political behavior in Indonesia through a close study of the Dar’ul Islam rebellion in West Java (1948–1962). Rather than focusing exclusively on the rebellion itself, Jackson uses it as a laboratory to test broader theories of Indonesian politics, exploring why some villages supported the rebellion, others remained neutral, and still others fought alongside the national government. His central argument is that Sundanese village politics cannot be explained solely by ideology, religion, or economic conditions. Instead, enduring systems of traditional authority—dyadic, personal, and affect-laden superior–subordinate bonds—played the decisive role in shaping village political alignments. In this model, villagers acted not primarily out of class interest or religious conviction, but from binding obligations to respected elders and bapak leaders who linked local communities to wider national currents.

Drawing on intensive fieldwork, interviews, and archival research, Jackson systematically tests and challenges explanations based on deprivation, education, exposure to mass media, and ideological belief, demonstrating that none of these variables alone explains village-level choices during the rebellion. Instead, political outcomes emerged from networks of traditional authority that enabled village leaders to commit entire communities to political courses with far-reaching consequences. The study moves from a detailed history of the rebellion and micro-level village case studies to a broader typology of political integration, contrasting the reliance on coercion and traditional authority in “traditional” societies with the emphasis on persuasion and economic incentives in transitional and modern contexts. By situating Sundanese politics within both Indonesian history and comparative political theory, Traditional Authority, Islam, and Rebellion makes a major contribution to Southeast Asian studies, political anthropology, and the study of state-building, offering enduring insights into how local authority structures shape national integration and rebellion.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.