
Prabowo’s 100 days in office: more grandstanding, less policymaking?
Analysis, PoliticsThe president needs a reality check — how did he fare, really, in his first 100 days?

Prabowo’s myth of ‘polite democracy’
Analysis, PoliticsThe reproduction of cultural narratives and myths, such as the ideal of a harmonious village, often serves to maintain the existing power hierarchy. The new administration’s emphasis on similar narratives, now presented as ‘polite democracy’, warrants caution because it can be easily abused to silence critics and suppress opposition.

Will Anies and Ahok join forces to challenge the Jokowi-Prabowo alliance?
Analysis, PoliticsWhile it is hard to predict whether Ahok and Anies’ reconciliation was genuine, it certainly reflects changing elite configurations in Indonesian politics after the 2024 presidential election. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is now serving as the only opposition party to the Jokowi-backed Prabowo Subianto government, and so Ahok, a PDI-P member, now finds himself in the same boat as his former enemy, Anies, a key political enemy of both Jokowi and Prabowo.

Talking Indonesia: art, activism and a cancelled show
Arts, Politics, UncategorizedIn this week's episode, Dr. Jemma Purdey chats with Dr Wulan Dirgantoro, a lecturer in art history and curatorship at the School of Culture and Communication, the University of Melbourne, about the cancelled art exhibition by Yos Suprapto and what it means for freedom of expression, art and activism in Indonesia.

2024 year-end review: Winter is coming for Indonesia’s civil society forces
Analysis, Politics, Review, SocietyIf what transpired in 2024 is any indication of what to come, we can safely say that 2025 will not be a democratic spring for Indonesia.

Is Jokowi still a political force?
Analysis, PoliticsTwo weeks after leaving the State Palace and transferring his official position to President Prabowo Subianto, it looks like Jokowi is not retiring from politics, as he once claimed he planned to do.
It takes two to tango: Why dynastic politics is on the rise in Indonesia
Analysis, Elections, PoliticsIt is suggested here that the emergence of political dynasties, including Jokowi’s, has been facilitated by Indonesian voters’ indifferent, if not even supportive, attitude towards dynastic politics.
From barracks to Monas: TNI’s grandiose return to political centre stage
Analysis, Politics, SecurityOn 5 October 2024, the Indonesian National Military (TNI) celebrated its 79th anniversary with great fanfare at the National Monument (Monas) complex in Central Jakarta.
Thousands of civilian onlookers flocked to see the ceremony, which received widespread media attention. Soldiers and military equipment moved down major thoroughfares towards the iconic monument during the city’s weekly car free day. Up to 100,000 military personnel took part in the event.
For Prabowo, Gibran’s online past is less of a problem than his offline future
Analysis, Elections, PoliticsA troll social media account under the name of Fufufafa in Indonesia’s oldest chat forum, Kaskus, has sparked speculation about the relationship dynamics between president-elect Prabowo Subianto and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.