In May 1998, the student-led Reformasi movement forced Indonesia's repressive Suharto regime from power and set in motion a transition to a new democratic order that has endured, against formidable odds, to the present. As the mixed outcomes of popular uprisings from Tiananmen Square to the Arab Spring attest, such an outcome is extraordinary. Both journalistic and historical accounts of Indonesia's Reformasi movement have given due credit to the students and other young people for overcoming fears paralyzing older generations and for leading the country in demanding reform. Yet the role of this cohort, and of youth activism more broadly, in fortifying the long-term commitment required to sustain any democratic transition has received far less attention.
In her new book, Activist Archives: Youth Culture and the Political Past in Indonesia, Doreen Lee fills this important gap in Indonesia's Reformasi narrative, applying a fresh lens to addressing the question of...
