Architecture and urban design are often powerful expressions of political desires to support and legitimise specific regimes. While such concepts of national identity are established through a constellation of urban forms, national identity is always contested. Places may be used and interpreted in ways that differ from what is intended. This book examines the role of Sukarnos monuments and public places and how their meanings and uses have been transformed under successive regimes.

Eka obtained her PhD from the University of Melbourne and has published her works on topics related to political monuments and public places in Jakarta, the emergence of housing enclaves and the role of stamps and currency as tools for political propaganda. Her recent publication appears in Dovey, Kim (2009).Becoming Places.London, Routledge.