Is Indonesia no longer hedging?

Hedging in the IR literature generally describes an actor who actively decides to not take sides, especially vis-a-vis great power competition. It is an “insurance-seeking behavior under situations of high uncertainty and high stakes” (Kuik, 2021). It is distinct from being neutral, which means being impartial and abstaining from participation, particularly in cases of armed conflict. Hedging is particularly defined by active endeavors to engage all sides while mitigating risks, without necessarily playing into one side. In this sense, hedging can be understood as some sort of middle ground between balancing and bandwagoning.

Indonesia has been described as somewhat of a “light hedger” compared to other Southeast Asian states. Indonesia’s stance originates from its historical experiences of being subjected to great power competition and colonialism. This inspired its independent and active foreign policy doctrine and practice of non-alignment. Yet there have been times when Indonesia leaned towards alignment, such as with the US during the Cold War. Currently, Indonesia hedges between the US and China, engaging with both while also actively maintaining its non-aligned stance. Indonesia may entertain China’s economic proposals, such as the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail, but this is offset by other economic deals with other players, such as Japan.

But, under Prabowo’s leadership, there are concerns that Indonesia may be abandoning hedging altogether. I believe Indonesian political leaders are showing early indications of abandoning hedging and leaning towards bandwagoning, which can be explained by the increasingly personalized way foreign policy is conducted.

Over Coffee #19: The 80th UN General Assembly and other developments

It’s that time of year again when world leaders flock to New York to deliver their speeches in front of the UN General Assembly.

Over Coffee #18: Indonesia moves closer to aircraft carrier purchase

Earlier this year, the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) had set their eyes on the decommissioned Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian-made light aircraft carrier. Analysts, however, did not know why TNI-AL wanted one. Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali, reasoned the purchase would strengthen Indonesia’s fleet, and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense stated the addition of an aircraft carrier would benefit disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations. The lack of clarity of the strategic and operational value of light aircraft carrier from the TNI-AL has led to critics warning that defense acquisitions should be based on real needs as opposed to posturing.

Over Coffee #17: After the Indonesian protests

The protests that erupted in Indonesia over House allowance hikes have dwindled. As of 3 September, 10 people have died, 8 missing, around 1,000 injured, and 3,000 in police custody. The police have also arrested 6 suspects, accused of inciting violence. Rights and advocacy groups have continued to press the police to release the detainees.

Deciphering Indonesian politico-speak: a short guide for non-Indonesians or Indonesians abroad

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink. In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.”

George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946

As the dust of the widespread protests in Indonesia settles, new facts have come to light. There are 10 confirmed civilian deaths—most likely linked to police brutality. 23 people are reported missing. Thousands more are injured or still in police custody. Meanwhile, one police officer out of seven who were present in the armored vehicle that killed Affan Kurniawan, the motorcycle taxi driver, has been dishonorably discharged, while the remaining officers are still being investigated.

But, what does the Orwell quote in the beginning have anything to do with all this?

I want to examine and analyze the words Indonesian politicians and security apparatus—law enforcement, intelligence, and military in particular—have used in response to the widespread protests. My aim is to show to an English-speaking audience how Indonesian politicians use euphemisms, lies, and linguistic sleights-of-hand to evade accountability and to suppress further protests.

Maritime security in Indonesia: how the past informs the present

Most studies of maritime security in Indonesia inevitably draws from historical antecedents. After all, the main inspiration for Joko Widodo’s Global Maritime Fulcrum was the glory of pre-Indonesian thalassocracies, Srivijaya and Majapahit. So, history is where we begin our journey in understanding Indonesian maritime security.

How does the past inform the present? Does history only serve as an inspiration for current policy, or are there tangible imprints of the past in present policies?

Over Coffee #16: Widespread protests in Indonesia

I am back after 3 years of forgetting to curate the weekly news and events happening across Southeast Asia.

To begin, let’s focus on the elephant in the room: the widespread protests in Indonesia.

In Indonesia, academia is cooked: how political power infiltrated academia

If one observes the long history of Indonesian academia, they will realize that it has never been fully decoupled from the corruption of politics. During Suharto’s authoritarian New Order, universities were just one of many institutions that were co-opted into the organicist state, churning out research that justified the state’s policies, no matter how misguided they may have been.

Suharto’s authoritarian regime may have long collapsed. In its place was Reformasi, colored by promises of civil liberties, academic freedom, democratic elections, and freedom of expression and assembly. No longer would intellectuals have to keep looking over their shoulders, wary of plainclothes intelligence officers tailing their every move. For a while, Indonesian academia enjoyed a breath of fresh air as new ideas could be discussed freely in campus quads and coffee shops.

But, though the facade of authoritarianism has receded, its phantom lingers. While one would expect academia to be a bulwark against recent democratic backsliding, the compromised relationship between academia and political power never really went away.

In Indonesia, academia is cooked: how obsessing over metrics undermines honest academic work

In my previous post, I went over how academic salaries relegate academics, a supposedly honorable group of people, to being second-class citizens. While there are legitimate concerns over how government often makes promises it cannot keep and designs systems that only work on paper, academics are also cooking themselves by cutting corners, thus undermining the whole academic process.

Over the past decade, there have been numerous incidents of academic fraud, usually involving plagiarism, citation cartels, fraudulent credentials, and abuse of political power to undermine the academic process. While it is tempting to blame an individual’s lack of integrity in these cases, explaining why this has become a pattern requires us to go beyond personal responsibility. Instead, the problem lies in the way the academic system is designed. And while a large part of the blame can be put on the government, in some cases, we also need to acknowledge that bad actors also exist within academia. One reinforces the other. Indonesian academia is less concerned with the development of basic science or knowledge, and more obsessed with performative indicators. Rewards and incentives are tied to quantity, not quality. Being perceived as “world-class” is more important than delivering impactful teaching or research. Prestige is the end goal, not the pursuit of knowledge.

Obviously, this is not a unique problem faced by Indonesia; rather, it is the logical consequence of the widespread neo-liberalization of academia.

I want to specifically focus on metrics here because, like salaries, it is constant point of contestation between the government and academics. As I have shown in my previous post, academics are underpaid but expected to churn out high-quality research with little support. Here, I want to show how misguided policy, particularly the obsession with academic metrics like publication counts, has done significant damage on academic work in Indonesia.