A boy collects firewood on Jan. 02, 2026, from piles of logs carried by landslides in Toweran Uken, Lut Tawar, Central Aceh, Aceh.

Why hazards continue to turn into disasters in Indonesia

Like many other regions in the Global South, Aceh’s vulnerability can be traced back to colonialism. Post-colonial development continues to reinforce it.

14 hours ago

Academia premium

Be vigilant against any resurgence of militarism

Today, the Japanese government openly attempts to forcibly link the China Taiwan question with Japan’s so-called “security concerns” seeking to manufacture a pretext for military intervention in the Taiwan Strait. ...

15 hours ago

Academia premium

Hedging Indonesia’s clean mobility risk

Indonesia faces exposure to global battery minerals it does not control and a domestic strategy that is increasingly centered on a single mineral at a time of rapid technological change. ...

16 hours ago

The Latest

Illustration of a Criminal Code (KUHP) book next to a gavel and a Lady Justice statue.

Academia premium

KUHP and the limits of legal decolonization in corporate liability

By personalizing liability for organizational failure, the new KUHP assigns risk to corporate managers even when they do not control the full set of variables that produce harm.

1 day ago

United States President Donald Trump claps after delivering his remarks on Jan. 6, 2026, at a House Republican Party retreat in Washington, D.C.

Academia premium

America's new age of empire

Trumps' actions against Venezuela has turned hegemony into bullyism, and other countries should be asking whether the world really needs the US.

1 day ago

Protesters holds placards that read 'Stop destroying democracy' (left) and 'Stop revoking our votes' (right) on Aug. 22, 2024, during a demonstration in front of the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta to protest the House of Representatives’ plan to reverse the Constitutional Court ruling on nomination rules for regional elections.

Academia premium

The soft coup against local democracy in Indonesia

The quasi-corporate approach to direct local elections is fundamentally flawed, as a price cannot be put on the democratic principle of popular sovereignty.

1 day ago

Delegates arrive at The Capital Zimbali hotel in Durban on July 17, 2025, ahead of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in South Africa.

Academia

Why the G20 is failing on climate, debt and inequality

The G20 has done exactly what it was set up to do; the problem is that the capitalist financial system is no longer sufficient to address the challenges of today's world.

1 day ago

People shop inside a Lidl store in Sofia on Dec.18, 2025, as prices are displayed in both the Bulgarian lev and euro currencies, ahead of Bulgaria's adoption of the euro on Jan. 1, 2026.

Academia premium

Bulgaria welcomes the eurozone: How Indonesia can benefit

Bulgaria has finally completed its full integration into the euro area, a journey that began with its membership of the European Union in 2007. What does the full integration mean for this nature-rich, beautiful country in the Balkans, which borders the Black Sea, and how can this benefit Indonesia?

1 day ago

Human rights activist and Kamisan (Thursday) silent protest initiator Maria Catarina Sumarsih (center) stands under an umbrella on Dec. 4, 2025, during a rally near Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta. During the 889th edition of the Kamisan protests, activists demand several points, including the cessation of criminalizing human rights defender, and the fair resolution of past human rights violations.

Academia premium

The irony of Indonesia’s UN human rights presidency

If Indonesia’s diplomacy remains entrenched in selective silence, the privilege of presiding over the council will devolve into symbolic prestige devoid of impact.

1 day ago

President Sukarno (right) delivers a speech during the Asia-Africa Conference at the Merdeka Building in Bandung, West Java, on April 18, 1955.

Academia premium

Has Indonesia forsaken the Bandung Spirit?

The way the government responded to the recent kidnapping of Venezuela’s president by the United States and its claim to now run that country, may have put the final nail in the Bandung coffin, as far as Indonesia is concerned.

2 days ago

A man shows an image featuring a digitally altered image of the ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before printing it on a shirt for sale at “Emporio Comercial de Gamarra“ in Lima on Jan. 6, 2026.

Academia premium

What now for the 'rules-based order'?

Maduro’s forceful extraction represents something new, partly because US institutions have become much weaker and less democratic, but also because the veneer of legitimacy has been stripped off

2 days ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers a speech on Dec. 24, 2025, during a ceremony for the handover of funds collected from forestry administrative fines and recovered state assets from corruption cases at the Attorney General’s Office complex in Jakarta.

Academia premium

Maduro shows Prabowo why repression at home weaken sovereignty abroad

The erosion of domestic legitimacy created the very opening through which external power could intervene, moralize and ultimately dominate the narrative.

2 days ago

In this aerial picture taken on Feb. 22, 2023, a concrete embankment, used to stem rising sea levels, is seen around part of Pari Island in Thousand Islands regency, Jakarta.

Academia premium

Why Pari Island’s climate lawsuit matters

The decision of the Cantonal Court of Zug, Switzerland, in the case brought by Pari residents against Holcim marks a significant milestone in the development of global climate litigation.

2 days ago

Heavy traffic congestion clogs the roads on Jan. 2, 2025, in Malang, East Java, as visitors from other cities traveled to Malang during the Christmas and New Year holiday. According to data from the Transportation Ministry, the peak of the return flow from the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year holidays was expected to be a projected 20.81 million travelers.

Academia premium

Year-end consumption surge: A sign of recovery or a seasonal mirage?

Focusing solely on credit expansion risks overlooking the fundamental issues of inequality and structural weakness in domestic demand.

2 days ago

A worker in protective gear uses a tool to scoop molten metal on Sept. 16, 2025, at Harita Nickel’s smelting facility on Obi Island in South Halmahera, North Maluku.

Academia premium

Indonesia can surpass Vietnam’s 8% growth

Indonesia's energy, critical minerals, agriculture and biodiversity-linked industries offer multiple growth vectors if managed with policy coherence.

2 days ago

Reach the heights: Tourists capture the moment of the first sunrise of the year on Jan. 1, 2026 at the top of Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java.

Academia premium

Taming unruly tourists with code of conduct

Social media addiction and the hyperconsumptive lifestyles of the 21st century often mean tourists forget the real purpose of their visit.

4 days ago

A child receives a vaccine to prevent polio on Aug. 10, 2023, as part of a monthly medical checkup program for children at an integrated services post in Banda Aceh.

Academia premium

Turning online conversations into child protection

In a country as diverse as Indonesia, decisions about immunization are shaped within families and communities and influenced by local social norms, religious guidance and lived experience.

4 days ago

A woman waves a Venezuelan flag among members of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces during a rally on Jan. 6, 2026, in support of seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas. United States forces reportedly killed 55 Venezuelan and Cuban military personnel in the raid to capture Maduro.

Academia premium

The grandeur and misery of international law

Too often, international law fails to prevent stronger states from acting as they please, as in the case of the US attack on Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro.

4 days ago

It’s all about the cloud: Streaming television services accessible at Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube are hosted and powered by online data centers.

Academia premium

Transforming IT without turbulence: How AI and service discipline can build trust

The benefits of combining IT service management and AI are often visible in measurable outcomes, such as faster incident resolution, reduced downtime and more efficient use of resources.

4 days ago

An Indonesian Air Force plane from the Jupiter aerobatic team flies past the National Monument (Monas) during a parade on Oct. 5, 2025, held as part of celebrations marking the Indonesian Military's (TNI) 80th anniversary at Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta.

Academia premium

Amid disasters, worsening geopolitics, Indonesia’s ‘theater state’ could reach its limit

There are democratic there are practices that are deployed to bind a nation together, whereas in an authoritarian society, rituals and theater are imposed upon the masses, to instill fear and submission.

6 days ago

Workers leave a PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex) factory, on Oct. 24, 2024, in Sukoharjo, Central Java.

Academia premium

Caught upstream: Saving Indonesia’s dying textile industry

For Indonesia, protectionism does not generate the jobs the country needs, while damaging the competitiveness of its exports.

5 days ago

Greenpeace Indonesia activists protest on Nov. 18, 2025, in front of the Muara Karang gas-fired power plant in North Jakarta. The protest had been against the inconsistency of national energy policies, calling for an end to dependence on fossil fuels ahead of the COP30 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil.

Academia premium

The ocean has finally entered the global climate debate

The ocean increasingly suffers the effects of absorbing over 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse-gases and about one-quarter of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

5 days ago

Bold operation: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrives on Jan. 05, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport as he heads toward the Daniel Patrick Manhattan United States Courthouse for an initial appearance to face US federal charges including narco-terrorism, conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering and others in New York City, the US.

Academia premium

Venezuela and the dangerous return of might makes right

Learning from the Venezuela invasion, Indonesia should continue to position itself as pro-law, pro-stability, pro-development and firmly opposed to military interventions, or worse, a new form of colonialism.

5 days ago

People cross the Francisco de Paula Santander International Bridge on the border with Venezuela on Jan. 6, 2026, in Cucuta, Colombia.

Academia

Trump's Venezuela oil grab revives petrodollar debate

The United States’ moves against Venezuela and its leader could be part of Washington's broader efforts to maintain the greenback's global dominance.

5 days ago

An employee (left, front) of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) distributes information about the National Health Insurance (JKN) as part of the agency’s Mobile Customer Service initiative in Ternate, North Maluku, during Car Free Day on Aug. 10, 2025.

Academia

A year of historic global health milestones and challenges

Reflecting on last year's achievements and challenges in public health, ensuring a healthier world through universal coverage remains the overarching goal for 2026.

5 days ago

Personnel from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) escort Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (fourth right, in tan shirt) to an armored van on Jan. 5, 2026, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City.

Academia premium

Preventing further derailment of the international order

Given the overall deterioration of the international order and climate commitments we all witnessed last year, diplomatic actors across the globe, including Indonesia, must prevent further backsliding in both areas in 2026.

5 days ago

Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto (right) shakes hand with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer following a meeting on Dec. 23, 2025, at the USTR office in Washington, DC. Indonesia is preparing to seal a reciprocal trade agreement (ART) with the US in at the end of January next year after resolving all substantial issues in negotiations that had earlier risked stalling.

Academia premium

Why Indonesia’s US deal could cost more than it delivers

For Indonesia, which is deeply embedded in East Asian production networks and heavily exposed to Chinese trade and investment, a reciprocal trade agreement with the US could trigger chaotic and costly supply chain realignments.

6 days ago

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (left) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet shake hands and hold up a document during the Oct. 26, 2025, signing of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Academia premium

How should ASEAN address the 2025 mess?

What 2025 ultimately revealed is how far the Indo-Pacific has drifted from the visions ASEAN and its partners once championed.

6 days ago

Sign of “GOJEK” and “GRAB” are seen on the helmets of an online motorcycle taxi driver and their passenger on Nov. 12 at Jl. Basuki Rachmat in Jakarta.

Academia premium

The hidden costs of a GoTo–Grab merger

In the context of a GoTo-Grab merger, the participation of Danantara introduces a fundamental conflict of interest that cannot be resolved through rhetoric alone.

6 days ago