After a three-week recess, the House of Representatives has resumed its session. High-profile public issues on its agenda include the succession of top military commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, who will reach mandatory retirement age next March. Some lawmakers and activists have urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to nominate a new chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI) before the end of this year. The general idea is to provide time and space for public hearings regarding the nominee’s vision on military professionalism. The situation brings to mind the arguments of Samuel P. Huntington’s “objective civilian control.” The renowned scholar has asserted that the state should encourage “an independent military sphere,” so that “multifarious civilian groups” would not “maximize their power in military affairs” by ...

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