The Rise of Capital and the Necessity of Political Economy

Indonesia: The Rise of Capitalby Richard Robison is regarded as one of the most important books in the study of modern Indonesia. It was also a major instigator of a turn toward political economy in the scholarship on Southeast Asia, more generally in the 1980s. This introductory article to the current feature issue examines the context that made the writing ofThe Rise of Capitalan intellectually necessary endeavour. It also explores the book's relevance to developments in three broad areas of academic debate within which the book can be situated.