Manager candidates of the Red and White Cooperatives march in full camo outfits on July 31, 2026, prior to attending the closing ceremony for the Defense Ministry’s Bachelor of Indonesian Development Drivers (SPPI) degree program at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta.

What kind of leaders does Indonesia want?

While a public service academy has a place in the education ecosystem, nurturing future leaders that can navigate the country's positioning in the global arena of technology, innovation and business doesn't require building a whole new institution.

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A new paradigm for foreign direct investment

Does foreign investment genuinely strengthen Indonesia's industrial capabilities, technological base and global competitiveness - or is it simply taking advantage of the country's large domestic market? ...

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What Bangkok and Jakarta can teach each other about political survival

The recent bilateral summit in Jakarta was a master class in Southeast Asian statecraft, where the visiting Thai premier and the hosting Indonesian president showed off their diplomatic chops in the art of political survival. ...

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The Latest

A social aid recipient (right) receives a sack of rice from the government's food reserves distribution program at the Dumai Post Office in Riau on Oct. 29, 2024.

Academia

The long game: Why politics, not evidence alone, drives welfare reform in Indonesia

Democratic governments can pursue long-term improvements without abandoning politically salient commitments to social welfare.

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People join an Al Quds Day rally in New York’s Times Square on March 13, 2026, to express support for Palestinians and object to the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran.

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America’s Israel debate has changed. Indonesia must notice

As American public opinion changes inexorably regarding their country's policy toward Israel, Indonesians should pay heed to how the voices of ordinary voters may ultimately redefine the future of US policy toward Palestine.

1 day ago

Remnants of signage for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are seen on Dec. 29, 2025, on the facade of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center building in Washington, DC.

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Foreign aid's next chapter: Better delivery, not retreat

This is a moment not to discard decades of progress in learning how to deliver aid but to reconsider priorities and demand greater accountability.

1 day ago

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The right lurch of Malaysia: ASEAN should watch it with care

As the political center of Peninsular Malaysia shifts rightward, preserving the nation’s fragile multiethnic balance is becoming a crucial test, not just for its federation but for the stability of ASEAN.

1 day ago

A warung keeper standing behind the cashier, managing daily sales of basic goods on Nov. 5, 2025.

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Uncertainty reveals Indonesia’s consumer strength

Consumption in Indonesia does not merely endure macro volatility; it frequently accelerates through it.

1 day ago

Farmers work on paddy fields on Nov. 20, 2025, in Lhoknga, Aceh.

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Independence still eludes marginal farmers

The majority of our farmers are working plots so small they cannot generate a sustainable or dignified income.

1 day ago

A Rohingya refugee carrying a sack walks across a market on Jan. 12, 2026, at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh.

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Premature repatriation risks deepening the Rohingya crisis

Repatriation without rights risks reproducing the very crisis it seeks to resolve.

2 days ago

Protesters gather before a monument with graffiti that reads “tax the rich” on Sept. 10, 2025, during a rally held as part of the “Bloquons tout“ (Let's block everything) protest movement at Place de la République in Paris.

Academia premium

The case for a pay-where-you-play tax system

The global tax system has repeatedly put corporate interests ahead of people and the planet by allowing multinationals to transfer profits to tax havens. If adopted, the proposed UN Tax Convention would overturn the century-old rules that make this possible.

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A janitor sweeps the floor after a homemade bomb blast at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 3 Padang in West Sumatra on July 14, 2026.

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No leader, no ideology: Indonesia’s new terror threat

Indonesia spent 20 years mastering the art of dismantling terrorist organizations. Its next threat will not have an organization to dismantle.

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Voters wait to cast their ballots at a polling station during the 14th general election in Alor Setar, Malaysia, on May 9, 2018.

Academia

Malaysia state polls: The age of political frenemies

What we are witnessing today in Malaysia is the rise of the frenemy: a political party or coalition that acts as a friendly partner on one stage, but turns into an outright rival the moment they step onto another.

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Women use smartphones on Sept. 28, 2023, at the entrance of Tanah Abang Market, Southeast Asia's largest wholesale shopping center for garments and textiles, in Jakarta.

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Data should be treated as a national asset

Indonesia will need to decide whether its digital data should be treated merely as an input for external technology companies or as a strategic national asset whose value should also contribute to domestic development.

2 days ago

A teller counts rupiah banknotes on Oct. 27, 2025, at the BNI Pasar Baru branch in Jakarta.

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A stronger macroeconomic framework for a stronger Indonesia

Indonesia now faces an important choice. The current policy mix is costly to maintain while becoming less effective.

2 days ago

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walks out of the West Wing to do a television interview on the North Lawn of the White House on March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Academia

US yen intervention signals perfect storm rising in FX and bond markets

From a purely financial perspective, Japan, arguably America’s biggest ally in Asia, poses as much of a threat due to the sheer scale of its exposure to US debt. It’s officially America’s biggest international creditor, to the tune of $1.14 trillion.

3 days ago

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and United States President Donald Trump shake hands during a photo op at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14, 2026, amid talks focusing on trade, regional security and bilateral ties between the world’s two largest economies.

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What a Sino-American G2 would mean for Asian security

The G2 concept that Trump has been touting lately is a highly unstable proposition that could make the emergence of a unipolar Asia more likely. Fortunately, Japan remains committed to advancing the far more effective “free and open Indo-Pacific" framework, with India as an indispensable partner.

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An aerial view shows a fire burning shrubs on peatland in Cot Seumeureng village, Samatiga district, West Aceh, Aceh, on July 19, 2026.

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Fighting forest fires starts with communities

Fire mitigation succeeds when risk is viewed as a shared responsibility. No single actor can tackle the threat of fire alone.

3 days ago

Academia

Fear influences patient access to medical opioids

Patients in Indonesia cannot access medical opioids because the government fears drug misuse.

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Dancers from Mexico dance during the Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk Art Festival (SCCIFAF) on July 16, 2023, in Surabaya, East Java.

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A personal journey, a shared future: Mexico and Indonesia in a new era of partnership

Within the multilateral framework of the United Nations, in the G20 and as partners in MIKTA, Mexico and Indonesia consistently join forces to amplify their voices.

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Philippines Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro and other leaders attend a group photo session during the High-Level Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Pasay, Manila on July 24, 2026.

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ASEAN centrality on display in Manila

At a time when ASEAN centrality is frequently questioned, the recent meetings demonstrated that ASEAN remains the principal convening platform of the Indo-Pacific.

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Wisma Danantara Indonesia stands out on Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on July 8, 2025.

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Why Danantara should stay out of KSSK

"KSSK Plus" introduces profound systemic, institutional and governance risks that threaten to undermine the very financial stability it seeks to enhance.

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This handout photograph released by India's Press Information Bureau (PIB) on April 28, 2018, shows India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping looking on along the East Lake, in Wuhan.

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The limits of Asia's two major growth models

What is the most reliable development path for an increasingly fragmented global economy? China and India represent different answers. But can other countries emulate them?

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Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (from left), Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet hold hands for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, in Cebu, Philippines, May 8, 2026.

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Why ASEAN Charter needs urgent reform

Nearly two decades later, the appropriate time for realistic yet necessary change has arrived.

4 days ago

A man walks past signage of Sify Infinit Spaces at its data center at Rabale in Navi Mumbai, India, on July 20, 2026.

Academia

Is India Asia's ultimate 'anti-AI' trade?

As Asia's AI-fueled stock boom cools, a supposed “AI loser” is emerging from the wreckage as an unlikely haven: India.

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Dadan Hindayana (center), the former head of the agency overseeing the free meals program, is escorted by officers from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel as he leaves the AGO building in Jakarta on June 3, 2026, following questioning over alleged misappropriation in the implementation of the program.

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Prabowo's populist economics and public ethics

One important element that appears to be missing from Prabowo's agenda is the cultivation of a strong foundation of public ethics.

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The reflection of motorists is seen in the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building sign, in Jakarta, on June 27, 2023.

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Indonesia's ultimate business ownership reform at a crossroads

There has been a recurring theme in recent corruption cases, where nominees and secretive corporate forms have obscured the real identity of owners and allowed for huge losses in state tax revenue.

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United States President Donald Trump shakes hands with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman on Nov. 19, 2025, at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.

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More nuclear states may be better; more strategic ambiguity never is

Indonesia's contribution should be to insist on what actually makes nuclear peace hold: declaratory transparency, no-first-use commitments, verified command-and-control safeguards and working crisis hotlines between adversaries.

5 days ago