Daniel Saul Lev (October 23, 1933 – July 29, 2006) was an American

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and scholar on

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Lev was born and raised in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

. In his youth, he participated in the

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

competitions for

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

. He graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in 1955 and received his doctorate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, where he became a member of the Modern Indonesia Project. Lev first traveled to Indonesia in 1959 and stayed in the country for three years. Because of his experience in Indonesia, Lev became a proponent of

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or Law Commission, ...

after observing the "systematic dismantling" of its legal system under Presidents

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

and

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

. After returning to the United States, he became a professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Lev's opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

was not well received by the university and likely prevented him from receiving

tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

. Soon after, he moved to Seattle to teach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

before finally retiring in 1999. As a scholar of Indonesian law, Lev helped the country's lawyers and activists continue their education in the United States. His dissertation titled ''The Transition to Guided Democracy: Indonesian Politics 1957–1959'' analyzed Sukarno's

Guided Democracy Guided democracy, also called directed democracy and managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or, in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legit ...

principles and became a classic reading on the development of the country's political system. He was also a member of

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

and served on the advisory committee of its Asia division. Lev was a heavy smoker and died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on July 29, 2006. He had been writing a biography on

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

lawyer and human rights advocate

Yap Thiam Hien John Yap Thiam Hien (25May 191325April 1989) was an Indonesian human rights lawyer. Life Born in Kutaraja, Aceh, Dutch East Indies, his father was Yap Sin Eng and his mother was Hwan Tjing Nio. Yap's family, living in genteel but reduced circ ...

at the time of his death. Over 900 pages of the book had been written, and two chapters remained unwritten. Fellow scholar and friend

Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book ''Imagined Communities'', which e ...

continued his work and published the book ''No Concessions: The Life of Yap Thiam Hien, Indonesian Human Rights Lawyer'' in 2011. He was married to Arlene O. Lev and had two children, son Louis and daughter Claire.

Selected publications

* No Concessions: The Life of Yap Thiam Hien, Indonesian Human Rights Lawyer (2011) * The Transition to Guided Democracy: Indonesian Politics, 1957-1959 (2009) * Yap Thiam Hien and Aceh (2006) * Politik minoritas: minoritas dalam politik (2000) * Legal evolution and political authority in Indonesia: selected essays (2000) * Making Indonesia (1996) * Making Indonesia (with Ruth McVey), (1996) * Introduction in "Memoirs of Oei Tjoe Tat, assistant to the president Sukarno" by Oei Tjoe Tjoe (Pengantar dalam "Memoar Oei Tjoe Tat, pembantu presiden Soekarno" oleh Oei Tjoe Tat) (1995) * Lawyers as outsiders: advocacy versus the state in Indonesia (1992) * Hukum dan Politik di Indonesia, Kesinambungan dan Perubahan (1990) * Legal Aid in Indonesia (1987) * Pengantar dalam "Bantuan hukum dan kemiskinan struktural" oleh T. Mulya Lubis (1986) * Bush lawyers in Indonesia: stratification, representation and brokerage (1973) * Islamic courts in Indonesia: a study in the political bases of legal institutions (1972) * American aid and political development (1967) * The transition to guided democracy: Indonesian politics, 1957-1959 (1966) * Republic of Indonesia cabinets, 1945-1965 (1965) * Some descriptive notes on foreign assistance in Indonesian technical education (1961) * A bibliography of Indonesian government documents and selected Indonesian writings on government in the Cornell University Library (1958)

References

External links

Guiding Transitions: Daniel Lev's Influence on Southeast Asian Studies
, a session of the 2000

Association for Asian Studies The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a scholarly, non-political and non-profit professional association focusing on Asia and the study of Asia. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The Association provides members with an Ann ...

Annual Meeting
Daniel S. Lev Law Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lev, Daniel 1933 births 2006 deaths American anti–Vietnam War activists Miami University alumni Cornell University alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty University of Washington faculty Deaths from lung cancer Activists from California Indonesianists 20th-century American political scientists