The formation of Federal Indonesia 1945-1949
A. Arthur Schiller

comprehensive study on the formation of a federal Indonesia.

The formation of a federal Indonesia between 1945 and 1949 was the result of an intense military and diplomatic conflict between Indonesian nationalists and the Netherlands, which ultimately led to the establishment of the United States of Indonesia (VSI) or Republik Indonesia Serikat (RIS).

The federal structure was short-lived. Many Indonesians saw it as a Dutch instrument (“divide and rule”). Within eight months, the RIS collapsed due to internal pressure, after which Indonesia returned to a unitary state on August 17, 1950, under the Provisional Constitution of 1950.