While not denying the general trend of state formation in the modern times, I
suggest that the political structure of the modern state in Indonesia is far from the ideal
model described by Weber—i.e., centralization, legalization, and rationalization. Weber
does not consider the possibility of having multiple localized power centers or quasi state
actors under the single political framework. By taking the state formation process in
Indonesia since the nineteenth century, this chapter will show that the central state has
attempted to establish its domination by making alliances with local powerholders. In this
process, the central state reinvented customary claims of local powerholders and prescribed