TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


Talking Indonesia: the climate crisis and gender nexus

In this episode, Elisabeth Kramer speaks with Dr Jane Ahlstrand, a senior lecturer in Indonesian studies at the University of New England, about her new research project on the relationship between climate crisis projects, sustainable development and gender in Indonesia.

Prabowo’s 100 days in office: more grandstanding, less policymaking? 

,
The president needs a reality check — how did he fare, really, in his first 100 days?     

Unpaid incentives: Reform of Indonesia’s higher education system long overdue

,
The controversy over the government’s refusal to pay civil servant lecturers their overdue performance allowance (tunjangan kinerja, or tukin) — which they are legally entitled to —certainly highlights the vulnerability of academic jobs in Indonesia. But it also exposes how politics and bureaucracy are undermining real reform of the country’s higher education system.

Prabowo’s myth of ‘polite democracy’

,
The 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.

Talking Indonesia: Nongkrong Festival and the Indonesian diaspora

In Melbourne and across Australia, Indonesian diaspora communities are reimagining what it means to celebrate their cultural identity through art, food, and the simple act of nongkrong (hanging out). But what happens when these cultural practices become spaces for exploring complex questions about belonging, identity, and ethical settlement on Aboriginal land?

The revival of hip-dut: The dangdut genre that makes Gen-Z hips move 

,
While hip-dut is not an entirely new genre (it is part of a long history of dangdut), the song’s release is, without doubt, a landmark moment in Indonesia’s music scene.

Big Brother is watching: Prabowo government tightens control of cyberspace with new digital monitoring agency

, , ,
In October, Communication and Digital (Komdigi) Minister Meutya Hafid told reporters that President Prabowo Subianto wanted to upgrade the nation’s digital oversight for security reasons. The president, the minister said, was paying special attention to digitalisation, specifically digital security, to address issues such as online gambling, predatory online lending schemes, and human trafficking.

‘Mysterious’ bamboo fence off Tangerang coast spotlights uneven urban development

, ,
The Tangerang bamboo sea fence has sparked public controversy. For weeks, the public were left in the dark over the identity of the parties responsible. Who erected this 6 meter-high sea fence in the Java Sea? And why?

Will Anies and Ahok join forces to challenge the Jokowi-Prabowo alliance?   

,
While 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: the climate crisis and gender nexus

In this episode, Elisabeth Kramer speaks with Dr Jane Ahlstrand, a senior lecturer in Indonesian studies at the University of New England, about her new research project on the relationship between climate crisis projects, sustainable development and gender in Indonesia.

Prabowo’s 100 days in office: more grandstanding, less policymaking? 

,
The president needs a reality check — how did he fare, really, in his first 100 days?     

Unpaid incentives: Reform of Indonesia’s higher education system long overdue

,
The controversy over the government’s refusal to pay civil servant lecturers their overdue performance allowance (tunjangan kinerja, or tukin) — which they are legally entitled to —certainly highlights the vulnerability of academic jobs in Indonesia. But it also exposes how politics and bureaucracy are undermining real reform of the country’s higher education system.

Prabowo’s myth of ‘polite democracy’

,
The 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.

Talking Indonesia: Nongkrong Festival and the Indonesian diaspora

In Melbourne and across Australia, Indonesian diaspora communities are reimagining what it means to celebrate their cultural identity through art, food, and the simple act of nongkrong (hanging out). But what happens when these cultural practices become spaces for exploring complex questions about belonging, identity, and ethical settlement on Aboriginal land?

The revival of hip-dut: The dangdut genre that makes Gen-Z hips move 

,
While hip-dut is not an entirely new genre (it is part of a long history of dangdut), the song’s release is, without doubt, a landmark moment in Indonesia’s music scene.

Big Brother is watching: Prabowo government tightens control of cyberspace with new digital monitoring agency

, , ,
In October, Communication and Digital (Komdigi) Minister Meutya Hafid told reporters that President Prabowo Subianto wanted to upgrade the nation’s digital oversight for security reasons. The president, the minister said, was paying special attention to digitalisation, specifically digital security, to address issues such as online gambling, predatory online lending schemes, and human trafficking.

‘Mysterious’ bamboo fence off Tangerang coast spotlights uneven urban development

, ,
The Tangerang bamboo sea fence has sparked public controversy. For weeks, the public were left in the dark over the identity of the parties responsible. Who erected this 6 meter-high sea fence in the Java Sea? And why?

Will Anies and Ahok join forces to challenge the Jokowi-Prabowo alliance?   

,
While 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.
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TALKING INDONESIA PODCASTSee all


2024 ELECTIONSSee all

Elite machinations pose major challenge to Golkar’s future

19 August 2024/by Arya Fernandes, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/arya/

Jokowi’s power consolidation: navigating post-election politics

26 March 2024/by A Syahsam Dwi Ihza Muhammad Trisnowidodo, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/syahsam-trisnowidodo/, Januar Aditya Pratama, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/januar-aditya-pratama/

These three parties could shape the future of political opposition in Indonesia

22 February 2024/by Yohanes Sulaiman, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/yohanes-sulaiman/

Prabowo victory secures Jokowi’s legacy

20 February 2024/by Virdika Rizky Utama, https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/author/virdika-rizky-utama/

Indonesia at Melbourne is supported by:

Melbourne Law School Asia Institute Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society Indonesia Forum Faculty of Arts Indonesia Democracy Hallmark Research Initiative

Indonesia at Melbourne

Room 726, Level 7, 185 Pelham St,
The University of Melbourne
Parkville 3010 VIC Australia

Phone: +61 3 83448581

Email:  indo-at-melb@unimelb.edu.au

Date created: 1 July 2015

Editor: Ary Hermawan

Editorial board: 
Professor Tim Lindsey
Dr Tim Mann
Aron Corbett

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated.

Phone:13 MELB (13 6352) | International: +(61 3) 9035 5511
The University of Melbourne ABN:84 002 705 224
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