Vernacular models of development: An analysis of Indonesia under the "New Order"

Official development discourses often differ from the everyday discussions and activities of development agents. If the former reflect an official mod el of development, then the latter could be said to reflect a "vernacular" model. The latter model is the focus of this analysis, taking as a case stu dy development in Indonesia during the "New Order" regime (1966-98) of form er President Suharto. Resource relations between the Indonesian state cente r and rural periphery are examined along with the norms that govern the how of resources as well as information on resource-use. This vernacular model of resource and information flows helps to explain the economic, political , and environmental crisis that befell Indonesia in the late 1990s and is r elevant to understanding the development dynamics of a number of other nati ons. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.