Discussion and debate on youth across different areas, topics, and scales in different social, political, cultural and geographical locations have always been enlightening. While Youth identities and social transformation in modern Indonesia will be of great value for experts in the area, it is also a digestible read for the wider public. This is definitely an advantage that is not easily found in every book written about youth, as in most cases they are either purely academic or simply popular in presentation. The book's six thematic parts, each consisting of two chapters, are logically structured. The scope of areas is relatively broad yet well targeted, starting from how youth is situated and understood in Indonesia to more detailed aspects of youth identities in relation to society.
In addressing the big picture of Indonesia's youth, White's chapter presents a comparative perspective on generational and social change. In his chapter, White proposes the need to focus on youth as an entity in itself, rather than seeing it purely as a transition from childhood to adulthood. Unfortunately, to date youth has often been defined ‘by what it is not’ (p. 5). Under the same theme, Nilan et al. address trends and inequalities in youth transitions, noting that what happens in the Indonesian context does not necessarily mirror that in developed Western countries. Across Nilan's nine study sites, Indonesian participants were found to have similar views on significant factors in their lives, namely education, family, faith, health and homeownership.
The second theme, on education, begins with White and Margiyatin's chapter on teenagers in a Javanese village. Their study found that masa remaja (adolescence) is seen as triggering tensions between generations. There were also very strong external influences on teenagers’ search for identity. One of these is indicated by the way social discrimination between boys and girls is ‘widely understood in a general or abstract way but matched with continued discrimination in day-to-day life’ (p. 66). Freedom, on the other hand, is not seen as an essential element of identity formation.
A study on transitions elsewhere is also presented. In her study, Robinson found that education is seen as the main factor in achieving successful transitions to adulthood in Sorowako (South Sulawesi). Decisions are mainly made by parents and their children, but they are dictated by social norms. Both economic benefits and modernity have been held as proof of good education. An interesting paradox found in this study is that while the rationale for sending children to Java for higher education is for them to learn to be independent, they typically remain fully financially dependent on their parents throughout (p. 85).
Moving away from education, the third theme deals with friendship, growing up and peer surveillance. In her research on young Minangkabau and their friendships, Parker addresses a very interesting concept of friends in Indonesia. The literal translation of ‘friend’, that is teman or kawan, simply means ‘people who are actually related in a very shallow way’ (p. 98). ‘Teman curhat’, however, indicates a friend who acts as ‘a safety valve and a moral barometer and guide’ (p. 110). This kind of friend is placed on the highest level of friendship as he/she does not only support or give comfort, but also provides an opportunity for sharing and expressing selves in a very close manner.
The next chapter by Semedi demonstrates how the youth group Pramuka has been strategically used as a political vehicle over the years. This began with President Sukarno's initiative to unite Indonesian boy scouts and girl guides into Praja Muda Karana (Pramuka). Pramuka was controlled by the government, as Sukarno saw youth as ‘a national asset’ (p. 116). During the New Order, Suharto made himself the head of the Pramuka National Advisory Council through a presidential decree. Interestingly, belief in Pramuka's wholesome moral activities for the young has always outstripped any political interests: and Indonesian society has always trusted that ‘nothing will go wrong between girls and boys as long as they are under the umbrella of Pramuka’ (p. 124).
The fourth theme, ‘Performing youth in space and time’, begins with Guinness's study of youth in Yogyakarta, where it was found that the home environment was becoming much less significant for youth. While student boarders in this Indonesian city of students are often suspected to be prone to free sexual interactions and illegal drugs, they are also exposed to ‘the opposite extreme of “fundamentalist” identity politics and religious exclusivism’ (p. 144). In turn, those who adopt fundamentalist views are having an impact on the city as they become active preachers in local mosques.
In the neighbouring city of Solo, Nilan investigated socialising amongst young women. One internet cafe has different spaces, ‘from a gender-inclusive teenage space for socialising and entertainment after school (a morally safe place) to a male-dominated adult space for sex, violence, and gambling (a morally dangerous place)’ (p. 163). Meanwhile, hanging out in shopping malls was a favourite activity during Ramadhan for young women who ngabuburit, while away their time at the malls until they can break their fast in the evening. At both the café and the mall, time, instead of place, determines how young women socialised.
The following theme, ‘Performing masculinity, claiming the street’ begins with Spyer's photo-essay of Ambon. The study was part of a larger project on post-Suharto era relations ‘between aesthetic-epistemological change and religious and social transformation’ (p. 180). In the same section, Hasan investigates Islamist activities amongst Indonesian youth, and discovered their desire to fight for the implementation of the shari'a and the khilafat (Caliphate), which in principle is ‘a world political system based on Islamic law’ (p. 207). The 17 young activists interviewed in this study were members of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia, an Islamist organisation which was disbanded through an Indonesian Presidential Decree in early 2017 (Al Jazeera, ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia banned “to protect unity”.’).
The final theme, ‘“Moral panics” and the health of the nation’, is covered in two chapters on teenage girls. In chapter 11, Webster conducts a survey of 473 teenaged students in Yogyakarta and found that their most frequently mentioned concern is pergaulan bebas — transgressive social interactions such as sex before marriage, homosexuality, pornography, deviance, and transgressions of gender norms. The final chapter explores the idiom of ‘tidak manja lagi’ in depicting the changes that a young Sasak female in Lombok experiences — from a girl dependent on her parents to a mother whose children depend on her.
Overall, this multi-author volume offers rich insights into Indonesian youth and the changes they undergo as they develop their identities. As suggested, while the language suits an academic audience, it is also accessible to non-academic readers, with a handy index for looking up particular aspects of Indonesian youth.
