Struggling to put on the integrity jacket: anti-corruption commitments beyond 2024
2024 Indonesian Elections, CorruptionOn 17 January, a little less than a month before 204 million registered Indonesian voters will cast their votes for a new president and national parliament, over 3,000 YouTubers tuned in to watch 'The Integrity Pact’. So, what was the Integrity Pact and what can it tell us about the future of anti-corruption efforts in Indonesia?
K-pop and the presidential election: Anies Baswedan riding the Korean Bubble
2024 Indonesian Elections, Media, SocietySocial media has become the key battle ground as candidates try to curate and amplify their image with younger voters. Nowhere is this changing online campaign landscape more evident than presidential candidate Anies Baswedan’s recent foray into K-pop fandom through the X (Twitter) account Anies Bubble.
The Indonesian presidential cult
2024 Indonesian Elections, PoliticsThe president is not some kind of rockstar or talisman to be adored. But even in the current era, most Indonesians – not only the lay people, but also the educated – continue to worship the president as a cult. They love and adore the president as a father figure.
Rohingya, politics and disinformation in Indonesia
2024 Indonesian Elections, MigrationWith national and presidential elections taking place next month, several politicians – both within Aceh and nationally – have already sought to boost their nationalist credentials by capitalising on the insidiousness of anti-Rohingya rhetoric.
Talking Indonesia: the presidential election
2024 Indonesian Elections, Politics, Talking IndonesiaWith the election just weeks away the campaign for the presidency is in full flight. In this week’s episode Jemma Purdey chats with Marcus Mietzner, Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.
Campaign costs impeding women’s political representation in Indonesia
2024 Indonesian Elections, Gender, PoliticsThere are several factors frustrating women’s political representation including voter beliefs about women’s leadership, gendered processes of candidate selection in political parties and the low numbers of women holding senior positions in the civil service. However, the possibility of improving women’s political representation in the upcoming February 2024 elections will also depend on overcoming arguably the biggest impediment to their election: money.
Aceh in the 2024 Indonesian elections: self-rule but shared spoils
2024 Indonesian Elections, Political parties, PoliticsAceh will also have its own provincial gubernatorial and legislative elections in November this year. One leading candidate for Aceh’s governor is Muzakir “Mualem” Manaf, who is again chairing Prabowo’s Aceh campaign. There is a good chance that both will be victorious in 2024.
Prabowo Subianto: Indonesia’s perennial strongman recast as the adorable grandpa
2024 Indonesian Elections, PoliticsPrabowo's political trajectory is a case study of resilience and reinvention. Throughout his long career he has faced accusations of war crimes, incompetence and even treason – and yet his detractors have never managed to end his political influence. This is due, in part, to Prabowo’s ability to repeatedly adapt his image. But as the 2024 election approaches, it is his most recent persona – that of an adorable grandpa for Indonesia’s Generation Z and millennial voters – that could be his most savvy.
Values-based or transactional? Comparing the foreign policies of Indonesia’s presidential candidates
2024 Indonesian Elections, Foreign PolicyIndonesia has long been known for what it calls its ‘free and active’ (bebas aktif) foreign policy. This policy has endured – but that doesn’t mean we should assume continuity in Indonesian foreign policy when there is a change of president.