Negotiating between Policy and Praxis: The Dutch Communist Party and the Prospects of Indonesian Independence

Only the Dutch Communist Party (CPH, then CPN) supported Indonesian independence from Dutch colonial rule, or so the party’s leaders, official publications, and historians have proclaimed since 1949, when the government of the Netherlands formally recognized the independent Republic of Indonesia. Indeed, looking backwards to the first half of the century, Dutch communists could point to decades’ worth of anti-colonial activism and agitation. When the Dutch government commenced large-scale military action against the nascent Republic of Indonesia in mid-1947, the CPN was the only major political party to align itself against this action. This policy served as the foundation for the communists’ heroic narrative privileging consistent and steadfast anti-colonialism, but, as this paper will explore, triumphalist posturing has disguised a more complex reality. Contemporary sources from the period of 1945-1949 reveal a party leadership grappling with competing pressures and ever-changing circumstances at home and overseas. Accordingly, the Dutch communists struck a balancing act between extremes, just as they had during the recent German occupation period. Doctrinaire yet flexible, progressive yet defensive, communist policy and practice continued to evolve in accordance with both the domestic situation and the developing conflict in Indonesia.