Oil and politics in Indonesia, 1945 to 1980. (Volumes I and II)

This study analyzes changes in distribution of oil-generated income and control of oil production between the government of Indonesia and foreign oil companies in Indonesia from 1945 to 1980. Developments external to Indonesia, such as the emergence of "independent" oil companies and Japan as an aggressive oil consumer in the late 1950s and the rise of OPEC, do not fully explain Indonesia's gains in income and control of supply, price and marketing. This study examines the hypothesis that, where Indonesia's gains in income and control preceded or lagged behind similar gains by other oil producing countries, a factor internal to Indonesia--in particular, degree of concentration of power in the national level government--was the cause.;Beginning from the extreme fragmentation of the revolution and the 1950s, power became increasingly concentrated under Guided Democracy and the Suharto government. Indonesia's first attempts to increase oil income, launched when fragmentation was high, failed. As concentration increased, Indonesian negotiators' ability to gain increased income and control relative to the foreign oil companies increased, peaking with Ibnu Sutowo's creation of a powerful mediating role in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After concentration had become so pronounced that powerful individual mediators such as Ibnu could be dispensed with, Indonesia lost a degree of political leverage in its relationship with foreign oil companies and changes in distribution of income and control became more directly subject to market developments external to Indonesia.;Data consist of (a) indicators of concentration of power (quashing of regional rebellions, banning of political parties, consolidation of control within military), (b) evidence from more than 120 interviews and documents regarding Indonesian negotiators' sources of political support (or lack thereof) and bargaining behavior; and (c) changes in terms of government-company arrangements regarding distribution of income and control of supply, price and markets.