ARTICLES

2 Apr 2026

Squeezed From Both Sides: Prabowo’s Fiscal Reckoning and Governance Implications

Yanuar Nugroho

Indonesia’s president is caught between a rock and a hard place fiscally and politically.

Student demonstrators gather in front of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 28 August 2025, to protest the planned salary increase for lawmakers. (Photo by Donal Husni / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

27 Mar 2026

Indonesia’s August-September 2025 Mass Arrests: What Do They Reflect?

Max Lane

Anti-government sentiment — especially online — among Indonesia’s youth has not been cowed by intimidation or arrest, but this resistance does not seem to have generated any moves toward more formal political organisation in real life.

Indonesia Indonesian Politics Youth

27 Mar 2026

Youth’s Solidarity Beyond Borders: What Encourages Indonesian Muslim Students to Boycott Israel?

Iim Halimatusa’diyah|Aptiani Nur Jannah

This Long Read shares the key findings of a survey examining the factors that predispose Indonesian Muslim undergraduates to engaging in a worldwide activist movement to boycott Israel.

Gaza Indonesia Indonesian Politics Protest

16 Mar 2026

Indonesia’s Aircraft Carrier: White Horse or White Elephant?

Ian Storey

Indonesia’s plans to acquire a second-hand aircraft carrier from Italy have been derided. The warship is more a symbol of Indonesia’s global aspirations than an operational asset for the country’s navy.

Defence Indonesia

2 Mar 2026

From Long-term Plans to Flagships: Indonesia’s Reordered Development Agenda

Deasy Pane|Dharendra Wardhana

Prabowo’s agenda is being driven by flagship programmes focused on nutrition, state-owned enterprises, and cooperatives. These programmes can complement long-term development, but Indonesia should maintain industrial, technological, and green transition priorities.

Economic Development Indonesia Indonesian Economy

2 Mar 2026

Proximity Without Leverage? Indonesia’s Risky Bet on Trump’s Board of Peace

Made Supriatma

President Prabowo’s involvement in Trump’s Board of Peace may have given Indonesia some proximity to the US, but his aim of gaining leverage in tariff negotiations is elusive.

Indonesia Indonesian Politics U.S.

27 Feb 2026

Islam-State Relations under Prabowo: More Carrots and More Sticks, But Less Progressive and Less Civil?

Ary Hermawan

This Long Read examines President Prabowo Subianto’s relationship with the various Islamic organisations in Indonesia. While mainstream groups like Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah continue to be considered strategic allies, there has also been greater tolerance of hardline Islamist groups.

Indonesia Indonesian Politics Islam

Sahri Hamid (in orange shirt with hand raised), Chairman of the People’s Movement Party (Partai Gerakan Rakyat), and honorary member, Anies Baswedan (in blue shirt). (Screengrab from Gerakan Rakyat / Youtube)

26 Feb 2026

Indonesia’s Party Cartel System and the New ‘People’s Movement Party’

Max Lane

There’s potentially a new party in town, if it’s not nipped in the bud before the next elections in Indonesia.

Indonesia Indonesian Elections Indonesian Politics

24 Feb 2026

Indonesia Joining the Board of Peace: At What Cost?

Ary Hermawan|Iim Halimatusa’diyah

Indonesian Islamic groups’ endorsement of President Prabowo’s decision to join Trump’s Board of Peace risks perceptions that they are departing from their long-standing support for the Palestinian cause.

Indonesia Palestine

29 Jan 2026

Indonesia’s Regional Elections (Pilkada) as Democracy’s Last Line of Defence

Burhanuddin Muhtadi

While the Prabowo Subianto government and its coalition partners in parliament have temporarily shelved their plans to abolish direct local elections due to public discontent, this years-long initiative is not dead.

Indonesia Indonesian Elections Indonesian Politics