President Prabowo Subianto (third right) listens to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (second right) as Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (center) looks on, while Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr (second left) speaks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (third left) on Oct. 26, 2025, as world leaders exit the stage following the opening ceremony of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

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President Prabowo Subianto ('left') rides a commuter train from Manggarai Station on Nov. 4, 2025, on the way to inaugurate the newly built Tanah Abang Baru Station in Central Jakarta, a Rp 309 billion (US$18.47 million) project.

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Indonesia’s economy is failing to engage with the world

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President Prabowo Subianto meets with United States President Donald Trump during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on Oct. 13, 2025.

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Jakarta should stop begging Washington to be nice

in response to the "America First" policy, Indonesia should build domestic production chains for food, energy and critical technologies, regardless of peacetime efficiency, because they deny adversaries wartime choke points

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President Prabowo Subianto (second left) walks alongside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (center) on Nov. 12 on the HMAS Canberra during a visit to HMAS Kuttabul Fleet Base in Sydney, Australia.

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The history behind the landmark Indonesia-Australia defense treaty

The relationship between the two countries has gone up and down over the years, but trust and confidence has perhaps never been higher.

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United States President Donald Trump ('left') looks at Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ('right') with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in between them when posing for a leader's photo at the ASEAN Summit on Oct. 26, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur.

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ASEAN will struggle to escape US-China squeeze

While ASEAN exporters face increasing pressure from US tariffs and heightened scrutiny of transshipments, their domestic markets are increasingly being dominated by Chinese goods.

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A fisherman parks his fishing boat on Nov. 11, in Kupal village, on Bacan Island, at coastal area in South Halmahera regency, North Maluku.

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Building a climate-resilient, high-growth Indonesia

Achieving both goals requires a balanced development strategy that prioritizes sustainable development, equitable economic transformation, innovation and environmental sustainability.

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Nickel smelter chimneys spew a column of emissions on July 7, 2024, into the air above the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park in Lelilef, North Maluku. Despite coal making up 67 percent of Indonesia’s 2023 energy mix, the country is shifting toward cleaner sources, impacting the nickel industry, which is vital for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

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The emissions mirage: Understanding what we count and miss

The companies that are starting to count their emissions today are the ones that will remain competitive tomorrow.

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Pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) female students undergo blood test during the government’s free health check (CKG) program on Oct. 28, 2025 at Pesantren Nida' Al-Qur'an Paladan in Temanggung, Central Java.

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‘Nobody’s Girl’, sexual violence, Virginia Giuffre and ‘santriwati’

Many cases of sexual violence in pesantren are not revealed because of threats received by victims from perpetrators, a study finds.

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The Democratic candidate for New York City mayor in the United States, Zohran Mamdani, waves on stage on election night, Nov. 4, 2025, in Brooklyn after winning the 2025 race.

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What can Indonesian progressives learn from Mamdani’s victory

Mamdani's historic victory should inspire the progressive forces within Indonesian civil society, who are currently at their lowest point, to consolidate.

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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Nov. 5 in the Queens borough of New York City. Mamdani won a historic victory to become the city's 111th mayor defeating independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa.

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The Mamdani effect: How government failure sways voters

Rising prices of daily needs have created opportunities for “challenger” politicians and parties to brand themselves with “extreme” policy platforms in the next Indonesian election in 2029.

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United States President Donald Trump waves on, Nov. 5, 2025, while boarding Air Force One at Miami International Airport, Florida, the US.

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America's future is being sacrificed for short-term ‘wins’

The US is trading long-term strategic advantages for immediate tactical gains, and the costs are accumulating in ways that won’t become apparent until it’s too late to reverse course.

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United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave a bilateral meeting on Oct. 30 at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea.

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Strong finance to power quality growth

For China to support high quality growth would require it to deepen long-term pension, insurance and private equity funds that can produce patient capital to absorb high-risk projects and investments.

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Jakarta Environmental Agency workers spray mist on Sept. 19, along Jl. TB Simatupang in South Jakarta. The agency sprayed 4,000 liters of mist at several strategic points to reduce air pollution in an attempt to clean the cities air ahead of Jakarta Eco Future Fest (JEFF) 2025.

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Global energy and emissions trends since Paris treaty

In the decade since the landmark COP21 Paris Agreement, both a lot and a little has changed when it comes to the energy sector makeup and the trajectory of emissions.

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Riau Governor Abdul Wahid (center) is escorted on Nov. 4, by officers upon his arrival at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) headquarters in South Jakarta. The KPK arrested nine individuals, including Abdul, in a sting operation on Monday in Riau.

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Riau's paradox: The 'cursed' resource riches amid neglect and graft

Bribery, embezzlement and collusion are widespread in Riau, contributing to state revenue losses, regional budget deficits, delayed development and environmental degradation.

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A member of a civil society movement holds a banner reading “Suharto is not a hero“ during the Kamisan (Thursday) rally opposing the government's plan to grant former president Soeharto national hero status near the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Nov. 6, 2025.

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Democracy doesn’t need heroes

Democracy itself is anti-heroic. Progress does not come from the benevolence of a single messiah but from the collective operation of an impersonal system.

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Oxfam activists wearing oversized masks representing (from left to right) European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Argentina's President Javier Milei, United States President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney pose during their “Big Heads“ protest stunt at the riverbank of the Federal University of Para in Belem, Brazil, on Nov. 5, 2025 on the sidelines of the COP30 United Nations Climate Summit.

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Why climate finance is not enough

If the Global North is no longer willing to meet its funding promises, it can still demonstrate good faith through another form of solidarity: sharing the knowledge, technology and intellectual property that underpin the green transition.

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Junior high school students play the online game ‘Roblox’ on Sept. 9 during the Edublox extracurricular activity at the Solo Technopark in Surakarta, Central Java.

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Today’s heroes are building Indonesia’s digital future

Today’s heroes require the same sort of courage that defined Indonesian independence, but this time to carve out the nation’s place in the global digital economy.

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President Prabowo Subianto (second left) stands among other world leaders (from left) Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, United States President Donald Trump Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as they gather for a photo op on Oct. 13 during the 2025 Gaza Peace Summit, also known as the Sharm el-Sheikh summit after the Egyptian city that hosted the event.

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Mediating in a broken world: How Indonesia can make a difference

Indonesia’s "free and active" foreign policy, its laissez-faire mediation style as well as its cumulative experience, from the national revolution to the post-tsunami Aceh peace process, might succeed in helping to resolve geopolitical conflicts in Southeast Asia as well as the Middle East amid the global breakdown in the rules-based order.

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Former Constitutional Court chief justice Jimly Asshiddiqie (second left), former coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Mahfud MD (center), Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra (left), National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo (second right) and former National Police chief Idham Aziz attend the inauguration of members of the Police Reform Acceleration Commission on Friday at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

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Police reform: Turning resistance into a path for transformation

The real transformation of the National Police lies in nurturing a professional culture built on accountability, empathy and trust.

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Farmers collect paddy during harvest time on Dec. 9, 2021, at a rice field in Candipuro district, Lumajang, East Java.

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Agriculture at the heart of security

While many factors have contributed to rising food insecurity, the most important is conflict.

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More languages in schools: President Prabowo Subianto ('right') and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attend a press conference on Oct. 23 after their bilateral meeting at the presidential palace in Jakarta. During their bilateral meeting, Prabowo said he plans to add Portuguese to foreign language education in Indonesia, while the sector also prepares to make English a compulsory subject in schools.

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From Portuguese to ‘gratis’: Prabowo’s double-edged language politics

Skepticism toward state paternalism, visible in online critiques of the free nutritious meal program rollout and in discussions about Prabowo’s ASEAN diplomacy, reflects a generation less easily swayed by spectacle.

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A member of civil society movement groups holds a banner reading “Soeharto is not a hero“ during a Thursdays (Kamisan) rally on Nov. 6 opposing the government's plan to grant former president Soeharto a national hero title near the presidential palace in Jakarta. Former president Soeharto, who died in 2008 aged 86, ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades after grabbing power in 1967 following a failed military coup.

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Heroes are not saints: Rethinking the National Hero Law

Soeharto resembled Dhritarashtra, the blind king who fathered the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra’s failure was not in what he did, but in his permissiveness.

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A Palestinian youth walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings on Nov. 2, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City.

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The Netanyahu Cabinet’s complicity in the Gaza genocide

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted Israel’s prime minister and his former defense minister for the Gaza atrocities. Several other cabinet members have contributed to these crimes, but none have been charged.

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A man collects used items including plastic bottles on Sept. 2, 2025 at the Cipeucang landfill, where the local administration plans to build a waste-to-energy plant to burn waste and generate electricity, in South Tangerang, Banten.

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Time to rethink what we mean by responsible investing

Could arms manufacturers soon become an everyday investment in ESG funds?

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Canberra Grammar School (CGS) students join an Indonesian language class on May 17, 2022, attended by Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Siswo Pramono.

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Bahasa Indonesia at a crossroads: Emblem, ecology and policy

Language policy is not a matter of imposing the top-down dos and don’ts about how language is used, but one of active engagement with diverse language users.

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President Prabowo Subianto ('right') inaugurates Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa ('center') as Finance Minister on Sept. 8, 2025 at the State Palace in Jakarta.

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Paradox of control: Indonesia’s fiscal decentralization in reverse

Instead of fostering autonomy and innovation, fiscal decentralization has evolved into an arrangement defined by dependency and compliance.

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Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa (left) and Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo give a press conference on the results of a meeting of the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) on Nov. 3 in Jakarta. Purbaya has urged banks to channel funds into the credit market, instead of buying BI Rupiah Securities (SRBI) or government bonds (SUN), to accelerate economic growth.

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Indonesia’s bond market now driven by domestic policy, not global sentiment

Weak credit growth in the private sector has left these banks flushing with liquidity, which they have channeled into government bonds.

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A worker cleans chairs at the main hall of the Merdeka Building on April 16, 2025, in Bandung, West Java. The building was the venue for the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, also known as the Bandung Conference, where 29 Asian and African countries convened in the spirit of anti-colonialism.

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The world hails Bandung, but Indonesia forgets

Forgetting is easier than confronting the truth that Bandung represents: that freedom is not only the absence of colonial rule, but the commitment to dignity, solidarity, and justice within the nation and beyond.

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