When Soldiers Became Jurists: The Legal Origins of Indonesia’s Authoritarianism
How did Indonesia’s military learn to rule through law? This essay argues that a “military-juridical nexus” between civilian jurists and army officers in the 1950s built the legal foundations of authoritarianism—transforming emergency powers into durable institutions that continue to shape Indonesia’s civil–military relations today.
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Book Reviews
All Reviews
10.03.2026
Fundamentally Fiction? Women, Deradicalization, and Narrative
What’s the appropriate punishment for ISIS brides who didn’t commit any violent crimes? Ishita Prasher reviews Nussaibah Younis’ Fundamentally (Penguin Random House, 2025).
4.03.2026
School Suspensions, a Legacy of Racial Injustice
In the United States, school suspensions are more than a tool for managing behavior. Often justified in the name of order, the effect goes far beyond discipline. Far from [...]
Podcasts and interviews
All Interviews and Podcasts9.03.2026
Anticipating Autocracies: A History of Contemporary China
In this latest conversation, we speak with Minxin Pei about his latest book, The Broken China Dream: How Reform Revived Totalitarianism (Princeton University Press, 2025), which challenges the [...]
5.03.2026
The Distinct Logic of Ukrainian Witchcraft
In our second podcast of this series, we have as guest Kateryna Dysa, with whom we will discuss her extremely fascinating book Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials: Volhynia, Podolia, and Ruthenia, 17th [...]