Policies - Indonesia at Melbourne

Selected, not shared: what Indonesia's limited dual citizenship proposal reveals about who counts as diaspora

The proposal for limited dual citizenship also appears ironic. It seeks to persuade highly skilled Indonesians overseas to return, yet President Prabowo has repeatedly urged those who are dissatisfied with the government to ‘look for another country’. Such mixed signals help explain why many members of the diaspora remain reluctant to formalise their ties to a state that seems ambivalent about their belonging.

Prabowo’s managed coercion is reshaping Indonesia’s political-economic order

Analysis, Economy, Policies, Politics

Prabowo’s regime has demonstrated that the state retains a latent, potent capacity to dictate the terms of economic accumulation. But this does not imply the erasure of Indonesia’s elite networks, but rather a structural rearticulation of their relationship with the state. While the oligarchs are currently forced to adapt to these centralising arrangements, their compliance should not be mistaken for permanent submission.

From founder to prisoner: is Nadiem's verdict the end of regulatory trust?

Analysis, Economy, Law, Policies

No one should be surprised if, slowly but surely, Indonesia keeps sliding off the shortlists of major allocators - not because its market has shrunk, but because its institutions have stopped underwriting it.

A China-Russia showdown? New great power tensions brewing in Indonesia’s North Natuna Sea

Analysis, Law, Policies, Politics, Security

The recent developments in the North Natuna Sea are very important, given recent geopolitical shifts that have severely disrupted the global economy. Energy self-reliance has become increasingly vital due to the Hormuz crisis, so how Indonesia deals with the Tuna Block will inevitably send geopolitical signals about its positioning as regards the great powers.

How Prabowo is expanding the military’s civilian role as an instrument of presidential rule

Analysis, Policies, Politics, Security

Under the Prabowo administration, the Indonesian military is becoming increasingly embedded in civilian policy implementation under direct presidential control.

Prabowo’s foreign stooge myth: Are Indonesians buying it?

Analysis, Highlights, Policies, Politics, Prabowo Subianto, Society

Although more people disagree with the president’s statement, the fact that 39.5% of the public agrees with Prabowo’s statement cannot be taken lightly, especially given that the president’s supporters and aides continue to amplify allegations of foreign interference through Indonesian proxies on traditional and social media.

Indonesia’s social media ban for under-16s deprives many children of their only public space

Analysis, Cyberspace, Education, Highlights, Policies

While the intention behind this policy is commendable, the design has two critical flaws. It fails to learn from the merits and shortcomings of Australia’s social media ban policy. More importantly, it misunderstands the role the internet plays in children’s social lives.

Redistributing wealth or costs? Why formalising community mining rarely works

Analysis, Environment, Policies

The central question is not whether communities should have access to mining, but whether the state retains the capacity to govern extraction once operations fragment across thousands of sites with uneven technical and environmental standards.

When silence speaks: Indonesia and the future of the e-commerce moratorium

Analysis, Economy, Policies

Ultimately, the issue is not simply whether Indonesia supports or opposes the proposed e-commerce tariffs moratorium. It is also about how Indonesia navigates a changing global trade landscape where rules are now increasingly shaped outside traditional multilateral forums.

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