Greg Barton

Currently a professor at Monash University, Dr. Greg Barton joined APCSS in January 2006 as a full time faculty member and continues to remain part of the adjunct staff.

Before joining APCSS he was an Associate Professor in politics at Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia, 1993 - 2005) where he taught courses on Political Leadership, Global Islamic Politics, and Society and Culture in Contemporary Asia. He has a long-running interest in Islamic thought, Muslim social movements – including both democratic reformist civil society movements and jihadi Islamist terrorist movements - Southeast Asian affairs, and religion and modernity in Asian society.

His 1995 PhD thesis at Monash University examined the development of liberal Islamic thought in Indonesia. In the decade since then he has continued to research and publish extensively on the influence of Islamic and Islamist thought in Indonesia, its contribution to the development of civil society and politics, and the emergence of Jihadi terrorism.

His research has been funded by three Australian Research Council Large Grants and a series of one-year grants. This work has involved more than thirty visits to Indonesia. He has developed internationally recognized expertise in Islam, civil society, politics and Islamist radicalism in Southeast Asia .

He has written or edited five books and published dozens of refereed articles and book chapters in this field, together with numerous essays in publications such as the The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, The Herald Sun, Asia Week, Dissent, Eureka Street, The Diplomat, The Jakarta Post, and Jawa Pos. He is frequently interviewed by the Australian and international electronic and print media on Islam and Islamism and on political developments in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia.

His biography of Abdurrahman Wahid (2002, Abdurrahman Wahid, Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President: A View From The Inside, Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press & UNSW Press) was published in 2002 and written from a privileged vantage point inside the presidential palace during an eventful period of democratic transition. His book Indonesia’s Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Soul of Islam, was published in 2004 by UNSW Press (and in 2005 by the University of Singapore Press).

He is currently working on two other book projects: Progressive Islamic Thought in Indonesia and Turkey; and: Islam’s Other Nation: A Fresh Look at Indonesia.

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Last updated: 06/23/2008

Bibliography

Refereed Publications

Sole-authored Academic Books

Barton, Greg (2004) Indonesia’s Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and radical Islamism, Sydney: UNSW Press, 2004. [also published in 2005 as: Barton, Greg (2005) Jemaah Islamiyah: Radical Islamism in Indonesia, Singapore: Singapore University Press.]

Barton, Greg 2003 Gus Dur: the Authorized Biography of Abdurrahman Wahid, Yogyakarta: LKiS, pp. 516. [Note: this 2003 book is the Indonesia language version of: Abdurrahman Wahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President a view from inside].

Barton, Greg (2002) Abdurrahman Wahid: Muslim Democrat, Indonesian President – a view from the inside, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 414.

Barton, Greg (1999) Gagasan Islam Liberal: Telaah terhadap Tulisan-tulisan Nurcholish Madjid, Djohan Effendi, Ahmad Wahib dan Abdurrahman Wahid, 1968-80, [Liberal Islamic Thought: A study of the writing of Nurcholish Madjid, Djohan Effendi, Ahmad Wahid and Abdurrahman Wahid] Jakarta: Paramadina, 609 pp.

Edited Academic Books

Barton, Greg and Fealy, Greg (eds) (1996) Nahdlatul Ulama, Traditional Islam and Modernity in Indonesia, Clayton: Monash Asia Institute.

Barton, Greg and Kingsbury, Damien (eds) (1994) Difference and Tolerance: Human Rights Issues in Southeast Asia, Geelong: Deakin University Press.

Chapters in edited books

[In Press] Barton, Greg (2006) 'Australia and Globalised Islam', in Fethi Mansouri (ed.) Australia and the Middle East: A Frontline Relationship, London/New York: IB Tauris Publishers.

Barton, Greg (2006) “Islam and Democratic Transition in Indonesia”, chapter 9, in Deborah A. Brown and Tun-jen Cheng (eds), Religious Organizations and Democratization: Case Studies from Contemporary Asia, New York: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 221-41.

Barton, Greg (2005) “Making sense of Jemaah Islamiyah terrorism and radical Islamism in Indonesia” in Shahram Akbarzadeh and Samina Yasmeen (eds), Islam and the West: reflections from Australia, UNSW Press, pp. 114-31.

Barton, Greg (2005) “Islam, Islamism and politics in Indonesia”, chapter 3 in Damien Kingsbury (ed.) Violence in Between: Conflict and Security in Archipelagic Southeast Asia, Singapore and Melbourne: ISEAS and Monash Asia Institute, pp. 75-103.

[Forthcoming] Barton, Greg “Jemaah Islamiyah and the emergence of jihadi terrorism in Southeast Asia”, in Andrew Tan (ed.) Terrorism and Insurgency in South East Asia, London: Edward Elgar.

[Forthcoming] Barton, Greg “Progressive Islamic thought and civil society activism in Turkey and Indonesia”, in Muhammad Cetin, The Gulen Movement in Turkey.

[Forthcoming] Barton, Greg, “The Tsunami and the Third Wave: Aceh’s tragedies and democratic reform, in Yudhoyono’s Indonesia in Greg Clancey (ed.), Natural Disasters in Asia.

Barton, Greg 2003a “The Wahid Presidency in Context: Regime Change, Inflated Expectations, Islam and the Promise of Democracy”, in Thang D. Nguyen and Frank-Jurgen Richter (eds), Indonesia Matters: Diversity, Unity, and Stability in Fragile Times, Singapore: Times Editions, pp. 28-38.

Barton, Greg 2003b “Pengantar: Islam, Islamism dan Politik di Indonesia” in Zainal Abidin Amir, Peta Islam Politik Pasca-Soeharto, Jakarta: LP3ES, pp. xv-xxxiii. [“Introduction: Islam, Islamism and Politics in Indonesia” in Zainal Abidin Amir, A Map of Islamic Politics in the Post-Soeharto Era]

Barton, Greg, 2002a 'Islam, politics and regime change in Wahid's Indonesia' in Julian M. Weiss (ed) Tigers' Roar: Asia's Recovery And Its Impact, New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Barton, Greg 2002b 'Islam and Politics in the New Indonesia', in Jason F Issacson and Colin Rubenstein (eds) Islam in Asia: Changing Political Realities, New Jersey, Transaction Press, p. 1-94.

Barton, Greg 2002c 'Islam and Politics in Malaysia', in Jason F Issacson and Colin Rubenstein (eds) Islam in Asia: Changing Political Realities, New Jersey, Transaction Press, p. 95-164.

Barton, Greg 2001a 'The Prospects for Islam', in Grayson Lloyd and Shannon Smith (eds) Indonesia Today: Challenges of History, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 244-255.

Barton, Greg 2001b 'President Wahid-a realist-idealist?', in Damien Kingsbury and Arief Budiman (eds), Indonesia: the Uncertain Transition, Bathurst, NSW: Crawford House Publishing, p. 312-28.

Barton, Greg 2001c 'Evaluating the Wahid presidency: A response to Marcus Mietzner's evaluation', in Damien Kingsbury and Arief Budiman (eds), Indonesia: the Uncertain Transition, Bathurst, NSW: Crawford House Publishing, p. 349-59.

Barton, Greg 2001d 'A fair measure - assessing President Wahid's first year as Indonesia embarks on the long road of regime-change,' in Damien Kingsbury (ed) The Abdurrahman Wahid Government's First Year: An Evaluation, Clayton: Monash Asia Institute, p. 33-55.

Barton, Greg 2000a 'Political and social change the case of Indonesia' in Andrew Vandenberg (ed.) Politics and Democracy, London: Macmillan.

Barton, Greg 2000b 'Abdurrahman Wahid dan Toleransi Keberagamaan’ [Abdurrahman Wahid and religious tolerance'] in Ahmad Suaedy and Ulil Abshar Abdalla (eds), Gila Gus Dur: Wacana Pembaca Abdurrahman Wahid, Yogyakarta, LKiS, 2000, pp. 84-120.

Barton, Greg 1999 'Understanding Abdurrahman Wahid?', in M. Saleh Isre (ed.), Prisma Pemikiran Gus Dur, Yogyakarta: LKiS, pp. xx-xlv.

Barton, Greg 1997 The Origins of Islamic Liberalism in Indonesia and its Contribution to Democratisation', Democracy in Asia, New York, 1997: St Martins Press, pp. 427-51.

Barton, Greg 1996a The Liberal, Progressive Roots of Abdurrahman Wahid’s Thought’ in Greg Barton and Greg Fealy (eds) Nahdlatul Ulama, Traditional Islam and Modernity in Indonesia, Clayton: Monash Asia Institute, pp. 190-226.

Barton, Greg1996b Islam, Pancasila and the Middle Path of Tawassuth: the thought of Achmad Siddiq’ in Greg Barton and Greg Fealy (eds) Nahdlatul Ulama, Traditional Islam and Modernity in Indonesia, Clayton: Monash Asia Institute, pp. 110-28.

Barton, Greg1994 'The impact of Islamic neo-Modernism on Indonesian Islamic thought: The emergence of a new pluralism', in David Bourchier and John Legge (eds) Indonesian Democracy: 1950s and 1990s, Clayton: Monash University, pp.143-150.

Barton, Greg 1991 The International Context of the Emergence of Islamic Neo Modernism in Indonesia', in M.C. Ricklefs (ed.) Islam in the Indonesian Social Context, Clayton: CSEAS Monash University, pp. 69-82.

Academic articles in refereed journals

Barton, Greg (2005) “Thinking Out Loud: Islam, civil society and democracy in Indonesia”, Democracy @large, Vol. 2, No. 1., Washington D.C.: IFES.

Barton, Greg and Rubenstein, Colin (2005) “Israel and Indonesia: A Relationship in Waiting, Jewish Political Studies Review, Spring 2005, Volume 17, Numbers 1&2, pp. 157-170.

Barton, Greg (2001e) “Indonesia’s Difficult Transition and President Abdurrahman Wahid”, Pacifica Review: Peace, Security and Global Change, Vol. 13, No. 3, October 2001, p.273-81

(1999) with Andree Feillard, ‘Nahdlatul Ulama, Abdurrahman Wahid and Reformation: What Does NU’s Nov 1997 National Gathering Tell Us?’, Studia Islamika, Vol 6, No 1, June 1999, pp.1-40.

(1997) ’Indonesia’s Nurcholish Madjid and Abdurrahman Wahid as Intellectual Ulama: The Meeting of Islamic Traditionalism and Modernism in neo-Modernist thought’, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Vol. 8, No. 3, Oct 1997, pp. 323-350.

(1995) 'Neo-Modernism: a Vital Synthesis of Traditionalism and Modernism in Indonesian Islam', Studia Islamika, Vol 2 No 3 1995, pp.1-75.

Essays and other articles

Barton, Greg (In Press) “Civil Society and Islam: why Indonesia is different”, Democracy at Large, Summer, 2005.

Barton, Greg (In Press) “Democracy and Islam in Indonesia”, The Review, October 2005.

Barton, Greg (2005), “Peaceful Islam and Nurcholish’s lasting legacy”, Opinion, The Jakarta Post, 6 September 2005.

Barton, Greg (2005) “Gus Dur / Kiai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid”, in The Encyclopedia of the Developing World, New York: Routledge Reference.

Barton, Greg (2005) “Islam and our common humanity in the wake of the Tsunami”, Opinion, The Australian, 7 January 2005.

Barton, Greg (2004) “Sally Neighbour, In the Shadow of Swords: on the trail of terrorism from Afghanistan to Australia”, (Sydney: Harper Collins, 2004), Book Review, Sydney Morning Herald, December 2004

Barton, Greg (2004), “No time for complacency”, Opinion, Courier Mail, Saturday 18 December 2004.

Barton, Greg (2004) “So far, so good for the great hope of Indonesian Democracy”, Opinion, The Age, Friday 22 October 2004

Barton, Greg (2004) “Banking on SBY’s Moral Capital”, The Canberra Times, Friday 24 September 2004

Barton, Greg (2004) “Good news, bad news, in the wake of the Jakarta bombing”, The Courier Mail, Friday 17 September 2004

Barton, Greg (2004) “Could do better with more effort: Australia is too ignorant of Asia to make its mark there”, Australian Financial Review, Education, Viewpoint, Monday 23 August, p. 36.

Barton, Greg (2004) “Indonesia: democratic uncertainty and the desire for change”, The Review, August 2004

Barton, Greg (2004) “Good news as people power rears its head”, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 July 2004.

Barton, Greg (2004) “Indonesia; two steps forward, one step backward”, The Review, May 2004

Barton, Greg (2003) “Respect, Mere Tolerance and the Foundations for Genuine Muslim-Christian Dialog between Muslims and Christians”, in Traveling Together Beyond Dialogue, Melbourne: Australian Intercultural Foundation.

Barton, Greg, “Indonesia’s Megawati”, The Diplomat, December 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Bali One Year On: Megawati in Denial Over Extent of JI”, Opinion, Australian Financial Review, Monday, October 6, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Megawati in denial over extent of JI”, Australian Financial Review, October 5, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “The real risk is complacency”, Opinion, Australian Financial Review, October 5, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Taking stock of terrorism”, Opinion, The Age, September 9, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Bashir verdict beggars belief”, Opinion, The Courier Mail (Brisbane, Australia), September 4, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Bashir's slap over wrist shows some fish too big to fry”, Opinion, The Sydney Morning Herald, September 4, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Beware Amrozi's death sentence”, Opinion, The Age, August 12, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “The good, bad and chilling news on Jemaah Islamiah”, Opinion, The Age, August 8, 2003.

Barton, Greg, “2002 in Review - Indonesian Islam and the emergence of radical Jihadi Islamism”, published in two parts in the Jawa Pos (Surabaya, Indonesia) in January 2003.

Barton, Greg, “Islam and democracy in Indonesia”, Dissent, Issue 10 Summer 2002/2003.

Barton, Greg, “Islam, Islamism and the contest for power in post-Soeharto Indonesia”, The Review, Melbourne, November 2002.

Barton, Greg, “Indonesia: No News Wasn’t Good News”, Eureka Street, November 2002,

Barton, Greg, “A deadly serious pipedream – Al Qaeda’s vision for our region”, Opinion, The Age, October 30, 2002 (also published in a slightly different form as “Call to arms that can't be ignored”, in The Newcastle Herald, October 30, 2002).

Barton, Greg, “Where to now for Megawati?”, ABC Online, website October 16, 2002

(Public Record http://abc.net.au/public/s701437.htm).

Barton, Greg, “Trouble in paradise – a portent of things to come?”, Opinion, Sydney Morning Herald, October 15, 2002.

Barton, Greg, “In the shadow of the generals”, Opinion, Sydney Morning Herald, October 14, 2002.

Barton, Greg, “Why Indonesia did nothing”, Opinion, Australian Financial Review, October 14, 2002.

Barton, Greg, “Uncertainty the only certainty amid the blood”, Opinion, The Age, Monday, October 14, 2002.

Barton, Greg, “Reform may have to wait in Megawati’s Indonesia”, The Review, October 2001.

Barton, Greg, “An Interview with President Abdurrahman Wahid”, Inside Indonesia, No 63, July-September 2000.

Barton, Greg, “Decline and fall”, Feature, Sydney Morning Herald, July 28, 2001.

Barton, Greg, “What now for Indonesia?”, Opinion, The Herald Sun, July 24, 2001.

Barton, Greg, “Gus Dur visits Australia: a view from down under”, Feature, The Herald Sun, June 29, 2001.

Barton, Greg, “Gus Dur: Not your average president”, The Van Zorge Report, December 2000.

Barton, Greg, “President Wahid struggles with regime change”, The Review, November 2000.

Barton, Greg, “People have yet to adjust after a regime change”, Opinion, The Jakarta Post, June 30, 2000.

Barton, Greg, “Islam returns to centre stage in Indonesia and Malaysia”, Asiaweek, June 2000.

Barton, Greg, “More than meets the eye: Indonesia's surprising new president”, Greg Barton, Inside Indonesia, No 62, April-June 2000.

Barton, Greg, “Whatever happened to Megawati?”, Feature, The Weekend Australian, January 22, 2000.

Barton, Greg, “Slow going on the reform path - Wahid’s First 100 Days, Feature, The Weekend Australian, January 29, 2000.

Barton, Greg, “Who is Gus Dur? President Abdurrahman Wahid: Islamic Liberal”, The Review, Melbourne, November 1999, p. 8-9.

Barton, Greg, “Maverick king-maker wins crown, Feature, The Weekend Australian, October 23, 1999.

Barton, Greg, “The people have spoken - now what?”, Opinion, The Age, September 1999.

Barton, Greg, “PKB-PAN & PDI-P one hope for the future, Ummat, Jakarta, Indonesia, September 1998.

Barton, Greg, “Pauline Hanson’s ‘One Nation’ Success – How is it possible?”, Ummat, Jakarta, Indonesia, July 1998.

Barton, Greg, “Civil Society in Indonesia”, Ummat, Jakarta, Indonesia, June 1998.