Scholarly Works - Political Science
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Item Open Access ‘Time’ in the time of empire : the idea of linear time during the era of late colonial-capitalism from William Maraden to Munshi Abdullah(International Islamic University Malaysia, 2024-06-28) Farish A. NoorThough many historical accounts of Western Imperialism and Colonialism have been written by now, most of these works have tended to focus upon the conquest of territorial space. This paper looks at another, under-studied, dimension of colonial expansionism in Southeast Asia, and will consider how ‘time’ was also a concern among Western colonialists of the 18th to 20th centuries. It will look at how a distinctly Western understanding of time – as something singular, linear, uni-directional and teleological – was brought to the region by Western colonialists and Orientalists, and how the imposition of this linear understanding of time effectively marginalised and erased local understandings of time, history and chronology among native Southeast Asians themselves.Item Open Access The Mandala, Agency and Norms in Indonesia-India Global Affairs(E-International Relations, 2024-07-16) Nia DelianaThe notion of the Mandala can be traced back to a Tamil inscription that describes a settlement and commercial system of a South Indian communal compound before the Chola’s raid in 1025 CE. The records note a commercial system in Lobu Tua of Southern Aceh dated in 1088 CE (McKinnon 1994). Mercantile exchanges between the two regions continued despite political turbulence resulting from domestic or global affairs. Many scholars believe that the Mandala of the Indian Ocean was the most substantial factor that engineered this international relationship. Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means a circle of space and time that connect through a circulation of being, according to Bose (2006). Through the shared Muslim cultures across the Indian Ocean (Pradines and Topan, 2023), The Mandala’s international norms ruled not only the entanglement on networks, ports, commodities, and agencies that characterized the systemic order of sovereignty, rivalry, and alliances with the great powers but also the fluid political ecosystem of the Ocean. It guided mobility, interactions, and a sense of belonging to the native-becoming South Indians, Arabs, Chinese, Jews, and Europeans.Item Open Access Tunisian Democracy at a Crossroads: A Comparative Analysis of Beji Caid Essebsi and Kais Saied Regimes(Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia, 2024-07-24) Nizar LukmanAs a new democracy, Tunisia is quite vulnerable to democratic erosion. The implementation of democracy in the country was quite effective during the leadership of Beji Caid Essebsi, resulting in a high democracy index driven by various policies that supported the implementation of this system. However, Tunisia’s quality of democracy significantly declined since President Kais Saied took power in 2019. The dissolution of Parliament, the prime minister's dismissal, the introduction of freedom of expression for council members, and unilateral electoral reforms aimed at consolidating his power are some cases of proof. This pattern raises questions about the recurring nature of democracy after presidential changes. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of studying the leadership traits and political beliefs of incumbent leaders in shaping the direction of democracy. This research aims to extrapolate the leadership characteristics of the two presidents, assessing their ideological orientation to determine their attitudes toward democracy and its impact. This study implements a combination of Leaders Trait Analysis (LTA) as part of a quantitative approach and Process Tracing techniques as a qualitative part by revealing public appearances (interviews and speeches) and combining them with historical events as empirical evidence that will show a comprehensive leader's personality to explain the cognitive and dispositional attributes that encompass various tendencies toward democratization.Item Embargo How the state frames its engagement in renminbi internationalization: The case of Indonesia(Wiley-Blackwell, 2024-01-14) Mellynia; Moch Faisal KarimThe rise of China has accelerated Renminbi (RMB) internationalization. While there seems to be global support for RMB internationalization, there is a gap in understanding how developing nations, facing potential domestic skepticism, rationalize and articulate their support. This article discusses narratives that states use to legitimize their support for RMB internationalization. Using the case of Indonesia, this article examines the country's policy responses to China's RMB internationalization strategy. It uncovers that Indonesia frames its engagement with RMB internationalization not merely as an endorsement of China's global ambitions but as a strategic move to hedge against US dollar vulnerability and to foster broader Asian regional integration, particularly in terms of currency cooperation. This article enriches the existing literature, providing a nuanced perspective on how states navigate the complexities of international economic diplomacy, crafting narratives that align with their strategic interests and policy objectives in the evolving landscape of global currency politics.Item Embargo Institutional layering in climate policy: Insights from REDD+ governance in Indonesia(Elsevier, 2023-07-22) Silvio Hermawan; Moch Faisal Karim; Lena RethelThe transformation of forest governance in low- and middle-income countries has been accelerated due to increased international pressure for climate change adaptation. These efforts, however, have been severely limited by inefficiencies within the forest-related state institutions tasked with addressing governance challenges, such as coordination, mediating political interests, and strategy-setting. This article contributes to the discussion of forest governance by providing an alternative view of such constraints. Using the case of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program in Indonesia, we examine the institutionalization process of the climate agenda in the forestry sector and how it influences forest governance transformation. We argue that the climate agenda has been institutionalized in Indonesia’s forest institutions by embedding climate objectives within the existing institution, a process known as layering. However, such assimilation of climate governance within the existing bureaucracy has arguably limited its transformative capacity. Despite the downsides, institutional layering has proved to be more resilient for long- term climate investment in a non-climate consensus country like Indonesia. We highlight the importance of examining the domestic political setting for explaining the institutionalization process of climate objectives. The interplay between politics and institutions provides a critical lens for understanding limitations to the transformative capacities of forest governance over time.Item Embargo Assessing the China Threat: Perspectives of University Students in Jakarta on the South China Sea Dispute and the Belt and Road Initiative(Springer International Publishing, 2024-04-13) Moch Faisal Karim; Annisa Milatia Rahman; SuwarnoDiscussions on the ‘China threat theory’ in Southeast Asia have been reignited by China’s assertive manoeuvres in the South China Sea and its expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). While substantial research has investigated the views of political elites and policymakers, the perceptions of educated urban youth, particularly regarding China’s geopolitical and economic strategies, remain underexplored. This study centers on Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous nation, to gauge the sentiments of urban youth towards China’s rising influence. Through a survey of 403 university students in Jakarta and its vicinity, we reveal an intensifying negative stance among these young, educated Indonesians corresponding with China’s increased assertiveness and economic pursuits under the BRI. This article underscores the nuanced perspectives of Indonesia’s future leaders, offering a targeted analysis of the attitudes of educated youth in an urban setting towards evolving Sino-Indonesian relations.Item Embargo Aligning policies, maintaining power: State-society conflicts and state responses to food crises in Indonesia and Nigeria(Wiley-Blackwell, 2023-09-27) Sirojuddin ArifDespite the importance of food for both economic and political reasons, why do governments respond differently to food crises? To answer this question, this article assesses the politics of state responses to food crises in Indonesia and Nigeria in the 1960s and 1970s. Using the state-in-society approach to politics, this research finds that variation in state–society conflicts explains the differences in Indonesia's and Nigeria's responses to the food crises. Conflicts between the state and urban workers led Nigeria to align its food policies with the need to contain urban workers' grievances, while in Indonesia conflicts between peasants and the state led the government to align its food policies with rural development to raise food production and eliminate the source of rural threats. State responses to food crises are therefore context-dependent policies, deeply influenced by the salient form of state–society conflicts.Item Open Access The Roots of Indonesia's Resilience Against Violent Extremism(Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat (PPIM) Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2021) Jamhari; TestrionoThis article explores Indonesia’s institutional foundations to understand the country’s resilience against violent extremism. First, Pancasila has been the foundation of an inclusive state that can bind Indonesian diversity. Second, multiparty elections allow Islamist groups to participate in politics and express their aspirations constitutionally, thus moderating their violent strategies. Third, the support of the largest Islamic organizations, especially NU and Muhammadiyah, for counterterrorism and law enforcement against extremist orchestrated by the government. Both organizations exhibit a stronghold essential to countering the Salafi jihadist ideology. However, although infrequent and small in scale, the continued acts of violent extremism in Indonesia have shown that there is still room for the terrorist ideology to grow. Some Islamic educational institutions deliberately educate students to support Islamism, and some students are introduced to Salafi jihadist ideology. Such a development should serve as a warning for the government to pay more attention to the curriculum and teachers, especially in Islamic educational institutions.Item Open Access In the Making of Salafi-Based Islamic Schools in Indonesia(Al-Jami'ah Research Centre, 2022) Jamhari Makruf; Saifudin AsroriThe Salafi manhaj (method) is emerging as a new form of Islamic education, in addition to the existing pesantren (Islamic boarding school) and madrasah (Islamic school) education systems, both of which have long histories in Indonesia. The presence of these schools reflects Salafi efforts to achieve “purification of Islam” though adherence to the idea of returning to the ‘authentic Islam’ as practiced by the early generations of Muslim. Salafi manhaj schools are also part of a transnational Islamic movement that has purposely spread ideas and movements from the Middle East around the world, including to Indonesia. Over time, these schools have developed into two models: Integrated Islamic Schools and Salafi manhaj pesantrens. Both aim to instill Islamic tenets that comply with the Salafi manhaj and disseminate and incorporate such tenets in the religious practices of Indonesian Muslims, although the Integrated Islamic Schools are more inclusive and teach aspects of the conventional state curriculum too. This article challenges previous findings that the influence of Salafi education has faded in Indonesia as efforts to combat Islamist terrorism globally have increased, arguing that Salafi educators have been strategic and effective in promoting their approach to religious education.Item Open Access How regional organisation survives: ASEAN, hedging and international society(Informa UK, 2023-05-23) I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana; Moch Faisal KarimHow can a regional organisation survive in great power contests? This article uses the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the empirical case to address the puzzle. The inquiry is important for three reasons. First, the recent developments in world politics have shown the increasingly penetrative actions of the major powers into regional multilateral organisations. Second, looking at ASEAN, the internal cohesion and solidity of the Association's member countries over the last decade have been challenged by the competition between China and the U.S. Third, the existing literature on ASEAN regional strategic affairs has been focused on hedging as the weaker states’ agential choice to manage their relations with the stronger states. However, there is insufficient explanation of what makes sustainable Southeast Asian states’ hedging possible. Working within the English School theory of IR, this article offers two factors explaining ASEAN’s survival as a regional international society: elite diplomatic culture and great power management. The argument is that ASEAN has developed its ideas and values of intra-regional diplomatic relations and built institutions that can mitigate the damaging consequences of the U.S.–China order contestation. Furthermore, this study promotes an English School perspective on hedging based on the ASEAN case. Arguing against the realist theory of hedging, which focuses on the domestic function of foreign policy strategy, the narrow conception of national interests and the relative distribution of power at the systemic level, hedging works because of viable institutions of the regional international society oriented toward constructing and preserving order.Item Open Access Comparing Moralities in the Abrahamic and Indic Religions Using Cognitive Science: Kindness, Peace, and Love versus Justice, Violence, and Hate(MDPI, 2023-02-02) Aria NakissaRecent cognitive science research indicates that humans possess numerous biologically rooted religious and moral intuitions. The present article draws on this research to compare forms of religious morality in the Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and the Indic traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism). Special attention is given to moral teachings on kindness, peace, and love, as well as related teachings on justice, violence, and hate. The article considers how moral intuitions shape Abrahamic/Indic moral teachings, which, in turn, impact: (1) Abrahamic/Indic doctrines concerning politics, law, and war; (2) Abrahamic/Indic doctrines concerning individual ethics, and moral behavior proper to monastics and laypersons; and (3) Abrahamic/Indic doctrines concerning theological matters, such as the nature of the universe, souls, and deities.