Diversity, democratisation and Indonesian leadership

Abstract

Indonesia's normative leadership at the 1955 Asian-African Conference was grounded in anti-colonialism that became part of the 'Bandung spirit'. However, the shape of Indonesia's recent leadership, following its remarkable democratisation, is harder to fathom. In response, this article suggests that Indonesia's regional and international engagements can be usefully understood through the lens of shifting domestic efforts to navigate unity with diversity, including as this is reflected in long-standing foreign policy commitments. Empirical reference points include the management of conflict in the Indonesian democratic transition, the place of civilian militias in Indonesian political life, and the Bali Democracy Forum. The case is made that Indonesia exhibits a remarkable embrace of diversity alongside substantial illiberality-a pattern that generates a flexible form of liberalism which presents difficulties, but also suggests particular opportunities for Indonesian leadership. Considering Indonesian navigation of unity with diversity enables a better understanding of the current and potential future shape of Indonesian leadership than analyses that rely on macro-level expectations of democratisation drawn from dominant liberal understandings of democracy and political order. This is in part because of the continuing salience of commitments to diversity, independence and cooperation that were articulated at Bandung in 1955.

Twitter Diplomacy @Kemlu_RI: A Case Study of Bali Democracy Forum 2019

“…As one of the key agendas in Indonesia's annual multilateral diplomacy, BDF 2019 aimed to promote the development of political freedom and openness (Brigg, Wilson, de Jalong, & Sugiono, 2016) among various countries of the Asia Pacific region. Besides, BDF 2019 also encouraged the expansion of participatory and open democratization (Lie & Siagian, 2018).…”

“…As a forum of annual multilateral diplomacy, the goal of BDF 2019 encourages the development of political freedom (Brigg, Wilson, de Jalong, & Sugiono, 2016) in the Asia Pacific region on an inclusive and open basis (Lie & Siagian, 2018) by following the commitment of digital diplomacy of the Indonesian MOFA. The BDF 2019 was originally a forum for Asia-Pacific countries.…”

Rabia Akhtar: The Blind Eye, U.S. Non-Proliferation Policy Towards Pakistan From Ford to Clinton

“…Taking into account the navigation of Indonesia's unity with diversity enables a better understanding of Indonesia's current and potential future forms of leadership than analyse s that rely on macro-level expectations of Democartisation taken from the dominant liberal understanding of democracy and political order. This is partly due to the importance of ongoing commitment to diversity, independence and cooperation articulated in Bandung in 1955 (Brigg et al, 2016).…”

South–South Cooperation in Southeast Asia: From Bandung and Solidarity to Norms and Rivalry

“…Certainly, there is a strong performative element in Indonesia’s SSC; a common discourse is repeated across SSC and foreign policy documents about the country’s historical and contemporary centrality to Southern solidarity (Engel, 2017). 5 Brigg et al argue that these engagements reflect Indonesia’s unique pathway, and its resultant capacity to embrace both “diversity and substantial illiberality” (2016: 419). However, the more important point here is that Indonesia’s focus on human rights differentiates it from other countries in the region and breaks with the Bandung principles, which prioritised non-interference.…”