alternatehistory.com

Ah-ha! Now that i've got your attention with a vague yet interesting title, I'd like to present to you my first timeline, or partial timeline, depending if I have the time to fully commit to something like this.

I bet most of you thought this a another CSA victory noob-timeline or something. Well, it's not. It's outside of the 'mainstream' alternate history that so many of you are used to. It's not based in North America, not Europe, not East Asia, not the Middle East, not Africa. It's an alternate history in the most forgotten corner of the globe (with the exception of Vietnam, possibly): South East Asia

Without further ado, I present to you, Divided We Stand.

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The Post-Colonial era - A Brief Summary

Indonesia. A word used commonly amongst historians studying the post-WWII world, yet seldom heard, taboo even, where the term was first originated. The East Indies is a very diverse place, and yet for a short time a united nation. The Republic of Indonesia (1945 - 1951) was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1949 when the Dutch surrendered it's (arguably) most important colony after four years of fierce fighting in which estimates claim up to 300,000 people died. The United States was one of the first to support this young republic and sent aid in the form of advisors and military equipment to help it on it's feet and protect it from socialist elements. But just two years afterwards Indonesia ceased to exist. Why was this?

Many experts put the blame on the leader of Indonesia at the time, President Sukarno. While very charismatic, Sukarno made some very bad decisions that ultimately became his, and his nation's, downfall. One of the worst was the establishment of Islam as a national religion. From this, Sukarno got the support of the Darul Islam movement that was highly supported in places across the archipelago and even had it's own army. However, minorities in Indonesia were everywhere, and many felt isolated from this decision, including important groups such as ethnic Chinese, which ran many businesses and monopolies in the nation, the mostly Christian Batak ethnic group, from which many politicians and intellectuals hail, as well as others like the Hindu Balinese and Chrisitans in Ambon, east Nusa Tenggara, and parts of Sulawesi. Many people from these groups would later join rebels or make their own rebel organization.

While Indonesia and Sukarno were garnered international attention and were dubbed by the media as the "beacon of freedom the the dark world of colonialism", the new republic was by no means libertarian. Oppression of non-Javanese, Sundanese, and Malay ethnicities were common, and people even suspected of treachery were arrested. Many were tortured. More were shot. And so as soon as the new nation emerged, people against it did to. Literally hundreds of independence movements popped up, and when Sukarno and his few supporters were chased away from Jakarta by a loose coalition of socialists, various minority movements, rebel groups, Islamists, and the military to British-held Singapore, there was a power vacuum. For the majority of the 1950's anarchy ruled, and it wouldn't be until 1961 when foreign powers re-found interest in the region. But that doesn't mean that peace will come to the East Indies, in fact, it would just become another playing field with the Earth's two grandmasters battling it out. The cold war would ravage 'Indonesia' for decades to come.

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So, what do we know so far?

For the few of you who know anything about the Indonesian Independence War, you can probably see that things went pretty much OTL. A little hint if you were wondering: There is no one POD. It's a bunch of little things (which I will post later) that lead to this alternate world. While what I posted above is just a brief, brief summary at least one major thing that is usually tied up with Sukarno and the Independence War is missing, Pancasila. This ideology which smartly gives a sense of unity despite diversity while at the same time politely saying 'we own you' pretty much kept most people in check and supportive of the Sukarno regime.

In real life Sukarno was pretty left-leaning and managed to keep all the different ideologies in check for quite a while (he would make a good Tropico 3 player) but here ITTL he supports the radical faction of his religion in what he thinks benefits him for the long term, but in the end leads to his downfall.

Thank you for those who didn't lose interest (if you did, I don't blame you. Indonesia is not a well-known place) and I hope you liked this. I will continue it as well as I can with little pieces from people living and travelling in the region in the modern day.
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