The Dark Side of Paradise: Political Violence in Bali (Asia, East By South) (Hardcover)

by Geoffrey B. Robinson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"The Dark Side of Paradise is an effective attempt to put the politics back into Bali's twentieth-century history. With a sure mastery of both Indonesian and Dutch sources, Robinson analyzes the class tensions between aristocrats and commoners during the late colonial period."--Times Literary Supplement

"Robinson's work reaches beyond history, amply illustrating the possibilities of what might be termed a 'comparative historical sociology' approach."--Indonesia "Robinson's incisive, well-written work demolishes the fiction of the 'peaceful Balinese' that pervades academic and popular literature, and, for the first time, places modern political history directly into the middle of Balinese scholarship."--Choice

"This is a brilliant book that must be read by anybody interested in modern Indonesia."--Journal of the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 341 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080142965X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801429651
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,161,947 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Other Face of Bali, April 30, 2003

By	Tintin "tintin75" (Winchester, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I first visited Indonesia in 1984 and fell in love with Bali. I have since returned each year to the "Island of the Gods" from where I have been exploring the rest of the Indonesian Archipelago, and since 1991, I share my time equally between Bali and Winchester, Massachusetts. Of course, I am always eager to know more about all aspects of Balinese life. Although there is a plethora of books about Bali dealing with its wonderful culture and its arts, it is not the case about its particular history. After a while, it became obvious to me that this important missing part of the puzzle was essential to further my understanding of the complex character of the Balinese. The history of Bali is clouded in the mist of time, and reliable informations on the subject tend to be scarce and are not easily available. Historical documents, written in old Balinese language are obviously not accessible to a non-specialist Westerner such I myself. Because of the special relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia, there exist numerous documents written in Dutch, covering the last few centuries. However, as with most people, the Dutch language is not my forte.

Therefore, it was a "revelation" to come across Robinson's book, "The Dark Side of Bali". The book covers in details the historical and political events in Bali, from the end of 19th Century until the aftermath of the 1965 coup d'etat. It relates the Balinese experience under the Dutch colonial domination, during the National Revolution, 1945 - 1949, the Sukarno era, 1950 - 1965, and the military coup of 1965 and its aftermath. It reveals another face of Bali, the hidden face of Paradise. It is a scholarly book based on Dutch and Indonesian sources. It reads well, and contains an impressive number of references. Geoffrey Robinson, Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, is obviously an expert on the subject, as demonstrated by this in-depth analysis of the social and economic roots of the deep divisions that have, since colonial times, penetrated and defined the Balinese society. Robinson shows how in the 1920's, the Dutch restored and in some cases created a "traditional" Bali to counter a perceived nationalistic threat. This was achieved by resurrecting and maintaining the old ruling royal families as guarantors of these traditions. The Japanese occupation during WWII, relying mostly on the sudras (lower cast) upset the exiting social order, and explained the social problems which existed until the Sukarto period, eventually leading to the horrific massacred of 1965 and the ascend of General Suharto to power. Robinson presents a picture of Bali quite unlike the idyllic, peaceful island promoted by the tourist industry, but a society influenced by the World's politics and driven by class and ideological conflicts. This book surely belongs in the library of anyone interested in Indonesia in general and Bali in particular.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Light Shines Through The Darkness, June 24, 2008

By	Chimonsho (Turtle Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Side of Paradise: Political Violence in Bali (Asia East By South Series) (Paperback)

The Bali of tourists and ethnographers is a enchanting vision of harmony among gods, nature and people, but minus power relations it is a sanitized image. Robinson's sobering book restores politics to "paradise," and the fuller picture is far from pretty. Part of the great prize of Indonesia, Bali has been fought over repeatedly along with other islands. Dutch, Japanese, Javanese and Balinese have all employed force at various times. Bali no longer seems so exceptional in this tale of (mostly) 20th century conflicts, but at least we have a firmer appreciation of struggles within communities supplying the artistry and labor undergirding what visitors see. 2002 and 2005's terror bombings of tourists---with many Balinese victims---reinforce the thesis of the primacy of politics, but also suggest a need for an update; cf. M. Ressa, "Seeds of Terror." For context, see T. Friend, "Indonesian Destinies." Pramoedya Ananta Toer's novels are superb, but most Indonesiana tends to be Java-centered. We still await publishers who will offer accessible works by Indonesia's own scholars, on Bali and beyond.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unraveling a mystery, March 13, 2009

By	F. J. Van Velsen (Holland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dark Side of Paradise: Political Violence in Bali (Asia East By South Series) (Paperback)

One of the very few books I read more than once and that I had to buy again because I gave my copy away. The book can best be understood after having read Robert Pringle's "A Short History of Bali: Indonesia's Hindu Realm", of which the 8th chapter is largely based on this book. Robinson puts the atrocities that came with the political coup bringing down Sukarno and installing Suharto in the right perspective. He proves that giving a very well researched and documented report of events can be combined with an almost storytelling way of writing. The author had a regular job that he more or less interrupted for his research and writing. What he does not say in so many words is that the most important sources of Indonesian history are to be found in Holland (Leiden) and that they are - of course - in Dutch, so that anyone studying the subject simply has to master that language, known as one of the most difficult on the planet. Being a Dutchman myself and having studied topics of Dutch colonial history in the same places, I am very impressed by the skills of both Robinson and the aforementioned Pringle. The book explains how the peaceful life on the "Isle of the Gods" isn't but skindeep and how old controversies and hatred, simmering underneath that sweet cover of Balinese smiles, have been unleached. Who has ever been to Bali as a tourist will find it hard to understand that precisely on this island the killings have been so ferocious. Robinson explains the backgrounds and gives very detailed accounts. Even many decades after the events, his Balinese sources still needed protection and are in many cases therefore kept in anonimity. As Robinson correctly explains, the Balinese have a long history of fighting eachother and were the bravest warriors against the Dutch, who were only able to occupy the island in the beginning of the 20th century. This and Pringle's book are musts for anyone interested in Indonesian history and the waiting is for an author who will describe and explain the sudden change of mood that is found specifically in Indonesians whereby the most friendly people can litterally overnight unleash a killing frenzy with atrocities a Westerner can hardly imagine. This historically well known but never really understood phenomenon even has a name in Indonesian language: "Mataglap" and the events this book describes are the best example of it.