Emeritus Professor Robert Elson
Emeritus Professor
School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry
Researcher biography
Emeritus Professor Robert Elson’s research interests include the modern and contemporary history of Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia.
His recently completedresearch project, entitled "the history of maritime territoriality in the Indonesian seas since 1850” was published in 2017.
Professor Elson's other research interests include Indonesian political thinking, leadership in Indonesia; changing identity in Indonesia; the social and economic history of Southeast Asia; social and economic change in nineteenth and twentieth century Java; colonialism and its impact in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia; the economic history of peasant production in Southeast Asia, 1800-1990.
He is involved in the following activities:
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Member, Editorial Board, Southeast Asia Publications Series, Asian Studies Association of Australia.
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Member, Academic Commission (Wetenschapscommissie), NIOD Instituut voor Oorlogs-, Holocaust- en Genocidestudies (Institute for War, Holocaust- and Genocide Studies) (2004-2014).
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Adjunct Professor, University of the Sunshine Coast.
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External Examiner University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur for Bachelor of Arts (International and Strategic Studies); Master of Strategic and Defence Studies); Bachelor of Arts (Southeast Asian Studies): Master of Arts (Southeast Asian Studies); Bachelor of Arts (History); Master of Arts (Malaysian History) and Master of Arts (Southeast Asian History) (2014- ).
Publications
Books
Butcher, John G. and Elson, R. E. (2017). Sovereignty and the sea: how Indonesia became an archipelagic state. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
Elson, R. E. (2008). Suharto : A political biography. Cambridge, England, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Elson, R. E. (2008). The idea of Indonesia: Sejarah pemikiran dan garasan. Jakarta, Indonesia: Serambi.
Elson, R. E. (2008). The idea of Indonesia: a history. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Elson, R.E., Wahono, Satrio and Sasono, Eka Santi (2005). Suharto: Sebuah biografi politik. 1 ed. Jakarta: Pustaka Minda Utama.
Elson, Robert (2004). Soeharto : een biografie. Utrecht, The Netherlands: Het Spectrum.
Elson, R. E. (2001). Suharto: A political biography. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Book Chapters
Elson, Robert E. (2013). Engineering from within: Habibie the man and Indonesia's reformasi. Democracy take off? the B.J. Habibie period. (pp. 27-47) edited by Dewi Fortuna Anwar and Bridget Welsh. Indonesia: PT. Sinar Harapan Persada.
Elson, R. E. (2012). Problems of identity and legitimacy for Indonesia's place in the world. Indonesia rising: The repositioning of Asia's third giant. (pp. 170-185) edited by Anthony Reid. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.
Elson, R. E. (2012). Absent at the creation: Islamism's belated, troubled engagement with early Indonesian nationalism. Anthony Reid and the study of the Southeast Asian past. (pp. 303-335) edited by Geoff Wade and Li Tana. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.
Elson, Robert (2012). (Indonesian) history and its uses: theory, lessons, activism and policy. Knowing Indonesia: intersections of self, discipline and nation. (pp. 37-51) edited by Jemma Purdey. Victoria, Australia: Monash University Publishing.
Elson, R. E. (2008). Sartono Kartodirdjo: Serious, profound, masterly. Sejarah Yang Memihak: Mengenang Sartono Kartodirdjo. (pp. 198-205) edited by M. Nursam, T. Baskara, S. J. Wardaya and A. W. Adam. Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Ombak bekerjasama dengan Rumah Budaya TeMBI.
Elson, Robert E. (2008). Time, timing, and the historical moment in Suharto's politics. The inclusive regionalist: a festschrift dedicated to Jusuf Wanandi. (pp. x-x) edited by Hadi Soesastro and Clara Joewono. Jakarta, Indonesia: Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Elson, R. E. (2006). An eccentric road to reform: Habibie’s presidency, 1998-99. Komentar & pendapat: Detik-detik yang menentukan oleh Backharuddin Jusuf Habibie. (pp. xx-xx) edited by Singh, Bilveer and et al. Jakarta, Indonesia: THC Mandiri.
Elson, R. E. (2004). Reinventing a Region: Southeast Asia and the Colonial Experience. Contemporary Southeast Asia : regional dynamics, national differences. (pp. 15-29) edited by M. Beeson. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Elson, R. E. (2002). The Americans and the 1965 ‘coup attempt’: new insights?. Macht en majesteit: opstellen voor Cees Fasseur. (pp. 304-323) edited by J. Thomas Lindblad and Willem van der Molen. Leiden: Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, Universiteit Leiden.
Elson, R. E. (2002). In fear of the people: Suharto and the justification of state-sponsored violence under the New Order. Roots of violence in Indonesia: Contemporary violence in historical perspective. (pp. 173-195) edited by Freek Columbijn and J. Thomas Lindblad. Leiden, The Netherlands: KITLV Press.
Elson, R. E. (2001). Brief reflections on Indonesian political history. Indonesia today: challenges of history. (pp. ---) edited by Grayson Lloyd and Shannon Smith. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Journal Articles
Elson, R. E. (2013). Two failed attempts to Islamize the Indonesian constitution. Sojourn, 28 (3), 379-437. doi: 10.1355/sj28-3a
Elson, R. E. and Formichi, Chiara (2011). Why did Kartosuwiryo start shooting? An account of Dutch-Republican-Islamic forces interaction in West Java, 1945-1949. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 42 (3), 458-486. doi: 10.1017/S0022463411000361
Kusuma, A. B. and Elson, R. E. (2011). A note on the sources for the 1945 constitutional debates in Indonesia. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania, 167 (2-3), 196-209. doi: 10.1163/22134379-90003589
Elson, R. E. (2011). Indonesian exports, peasant agriculture and the world economy, 1850-2000: Economic structures in a Southeast Asian state. By Hiroyoshi Kano. Agricultural History, 85 (1), 110-111. doi: 10.3098/ah.2011.85.1.105
Elson, R. E. (2010). Nationalism, Islam, 'secularism', and the state in contemporary Indonesia. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 64 (3), 328-343. doi: 10.1080/10357711003736493
Elson, R. E. (2009). Another look at the Jakarta Charter Controversy of 1945. Indonesia, 88, 105-130.
Elson, Robert E. (2009). Disunity, distance, disregard: The political failure of islamism in late colonial indonesia. Studia Islamika, 16 (1), 1-60.
Elson, R. E. (2008). Book review: Legitimizing Military Rule: Indonesian Armed Forces Ideology, 1958-2000. By Salim Said (Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan, 2006) and Soeharto’s Armed Forces: Problems of Civil Military Relations in Indonesia. By Salim Said (Jakarta: Pustaka Si. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 54 (1), 164-165.
Elson, R. E. (2007). Islam, Islamism, the Nation, and the Early Indonesian Nationalist Movement. Journal of Indonesian Islam, 1 (2), 231-266. doi: 10.15642/JIIS.2007.1.2.231-266
Elson, R. E. (2007). Clifford Geertz, 1926-2006: Meaning, method, and Indonesian economic history. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 43 (2), 251-263. doi: 10.1080/00074910701408081
Elson, R. E. (2007). Marginality, morality, and the nationalist impulse: Papua, the Netherlands and Indonesia. A review article. Bijdragen en Mededelingen Betreffende de Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, 122 (1), 65-71.
Elson, R. E. (2006). An Indonesian frontier: Acehnese and other histories of Sumatra. Australian Journal of Politics And History, 52 (2), 343-344. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.00421.x
Elson, R. E. (2006). Book Review: Reluctant saviour: Australia, Indonesia and the Independence of East Timor. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 52 (1), 156-157. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2006.00412a.x
Elson, R. E. (2006). Indonesia and the West: An ambivalent, misunderstood engagement. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 52 (2), 261-271. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2005.00418.x
Elson, R. E. (2005). Constructing the nation: Ethnicity, race, modernity and citizenship in early Indonesian thought. Asian Ethnicity, 6 (3), 145-160. doi: 10.1080/14631360500226556
Elson, R.E. (2005). Book review: Nationalism and ethic conflict in Indonesia by J Bertrand. Global Change, Peace & Security, 17 (3), 317-318. doi: 10.1080/14781150500277628
Elson, R.E. (2004). Book review of Theodore Friend: Indonesian destines. Asian Studies Review, 28 (3), 203-204. doi: 10.1080/1035782042000291123
Elson, R. E. (2004). Book review: Indonesian politics and society: a reader. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 58 (1), 159-161. doi: 10.1080/1035771032000184827
Elson, R. E. (2004). Book review: Geoffrey Benjamin and Cynthia Chou (eds), Tribal communities in the Malay world: Historical, cultural and social perspectives. Asian Ethnicity, 5 (1), 133-134. doi: 10.1080/1463136032000168943
Elson, R. E. (2003). Southeast Asia: a testament. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 57 (2), 388-389. doi: 10.1080/10357710301751
Elson, R. E. (2003). Review of 'The Thai Village Economy in the Past'. The Journal of Economic History, 63 (1), 265-266. doi: 10.1017/S0022050703331808
Elson, R. E. (1998). Review of 'Shallow waters, rising tide: Shipping and trade in Java around 1750'. Journal of Asian Studies, 57 (1), 288-290. doi: 10.2307/2659102
Elson, R. E. (1998). Review of 'Riding the Dutch tiger: The Dutch East Indies company and the northeast coast of Java, 1680-1743'. The Journal of Asian Studies, 57 (1), 288-290. doi: 10.2307/2659102
Newspaper Article
Elson, R. E. (2005, 06 01). Engage not rage The Courier-Mail 25.
Preprints
Reference Entries
Elson, R. E. (2004). Orde Baru (New Order).