Nasakom

Nasakom (which stands for nationalism, religion and communism; Indonesian: Nasionalisme, Agama, Komunisme) was a political concept coined by President Sukarno. This concept prevailed in Indonesia from 1959 during the Guided Democracy Era until the New Order, in 1966. Sukarno's idea of Nasakom was an attempt to unify various political ideologies. alternate version at Google Books with preview Nasakom attempted to unite the nationalist, religious, and communist groups that at that time had the most power in Indonesian politics.
==Development==
Since the beginning of the struggle for Indonesian independence, there were three political movements that coloured the various movement organisations of the time. For example Indische Party and Sarekat Indies which were "nationalist", Sarekat Islam which had an Islamic ideology, and ISDV/PKI which had a Marxist ideology. The idea of Nasakom had actually been thought of by Sukarno since 1927, long before Indonesia's independence. Sukarno wrote a series of articles entitled "Nationalism, Islam and Marxism" in the magazine Soeloeh Indonesia Moeda, a published publication of the "Klub Studi Umum", the club Sukarno and his associates had founded in Bandung. The understanding of communism here was something more akin to socialism. The basis for this idea is the principle of social justice, which is also the basis of Karl Marx's political thought. In the article, Sukarno stressed the importance of a national unity of nationalists, Islamists, Marxists in an uncompromising (non-cooperative) resistance to the Dutch.
According to Sukarno:
By 1956, Sukarno conveyed this idea. He publicly criticised the Parliamentary Democracy system, which he considered unsuitable for implementation in Indonesia. According to Sukarno, Parliamentary Democracy protects the capitalist system. Because the parliament is controlled by the bourgeoisie. Thus according to Sukarno, this system cannot prosper the people. In addition, Sukarno also considered that Parliamentary Democracy could endanger the government, stating that it was "based upon inherent conflict" which ran counter to Indonesian notions of harmony as being the natural state of human relationships. Therefore, in February 1956, Sukarno proposed a new concept called Nasakom based on three main pillars. The three pillars were Nationalism, Religion, and Communism.
==Implementation of Nasakom==
After Nasakom was formed, Sukarno increasingly campaigned for his Nasakom concept. Sukarno united three political forces in order to strengthen his position. The three political parties that became the main factions in Indonesian politics at that time were:
# The nationalist Indonesian National Party (PNI).
# The religious Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
# The communist Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Nasakom then grew the PKI in Indonesia and defeated the other parties. Sukarno gradually moved closer to the PKI and the Indonesian Air Force in an attempt to strengthen his position in competition with Nasakom. In March 1960, Sukarno dissolved Parliament after it rejected the budget. In June, the Mutual Cooperation – People's Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Gotong Royong, DPR-GR) and the Provisional People's Representative Council (MPRS) were established, with the armed services and police represented as functional groups, and PKI chairman D.N. Aidit as deputy chairman. The PKI is estimated to have occupied 17–25% of the seats in the DPR-GR and is now represented in all state bodies except the Cabinet. Despite the warnings of Pro-PKI measures by regional military commanders, Sukarno repeatedly defended it.
Sukarno even campaigned for the Nasakom concept to international forums. He offered the principle of Pancasila's tolerance for world peace, which at that time was divided between the Western bloc and the Eastern bloc. In the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) on 30 September 1960 in New York, Sukarno delivered a speech entitled "To Build the World a New". Through this speech, Sukarno conveyed the Nasakom concept that he made. Furthermore, in the All-Indonesia Panca Tunggal Session at the State Palace, Jakarta, on 23 October 1965, Sukarno reiterated the importance of Nasakom even when his influence began to fade,
==Failure of Nasakom==
Sukarno was very keen to expand his Nasakom idea. However, no matter how hard he defended his Nakasom concept, this idea eventually ran aground. The end of Nasakom was caused by the decline of the PKI's prestige due to the 30 September Movement. In addition, the end of Nasakom was also caused by the transition of power from the Old Order to the New Order, where Indonesia's new leader, Suharto, was strongly anti-communist. Thus, the idea of Nasakom came to an end.
Category:Political concepts
Category:Political philosophy