What caused variation in compliance and non-compliance with military disciplinary laws over time, across units, and within units during the decolonization war in Indonesia?

In 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, many young men enlisted for military service in the Dutch armed forces. The government was, at the time, actively recruiting people to re-occupy one of its former colonies, the Dutch-Indies. When the recruitment campaign started, Japanese forces still controlled the archipelago. Yet by the time the Dutch military arrived, Japan had surrendered. The Dutch government expected a smooth re-occupation. But to its dismay, it faced a stiff nationalist movement – a movement that had begun to emerge in the Dutch-Indies at the end of the nineteenth century, and that had become quite powerful under Japanese rule (see generally Kahin 1952). The nationalists did not want the Dutch to return. A decolonization war started, and lasted until late 1949 when Indonesia officially became independent.

This dissertation project explores that war at the micro-level. It combines military personnel files with other primary sources to explore variation in discipline – compliance and non- compliance with military disciplinary law – by Dutch soldiers. The dissertation is embedded within a larger research project that focuses on the social histories of military units. Accordingly, the dissertation will have a strong historical character. But it also aims to contribute to the social sciences. Most importantly, it seeks to further our understanding of compliance and non- compliance with the law (e.g., Tyler 1990). The socio-legal question at the heart of the project is: What caused variation in compliance and non-compliance with military disciplinary laws over time, across units, and within units during the decolonization war in Indonesia?