A man stands onshore against the backdrop of the Callisto tanker on March 12, 2026, anchored at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat amid a sharp drop in maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States-Israeli war with Iran.

Strait strategy: Iran is sanctioning America

By choking off the Strait of Hormuz to oil flowing from pro-US Persian Gulf countries, while still shipping a substantial amount of its own oil to China, Iran has slapped painful sanctions on the US.

1 week ago

Academia premium

Beyond the ritual, the power of Indonesia’s 'Lebaranomics' is real

In an economy still heavily skewed toward urban concentration, where capital accumulates disproportionately in Jakarta and major cities, the annual Idul Fitri migration serves as a release valve, channeling economic “lifeblood” back into rural capillaries. ...

1 week ago

Academia premium

Prisoner ‘amnesty’ is no sign of reform in Myanmar

Such moves are a familiar tactic used by the military to project legitimacy and deflect international criticism ...

2 weeks ago

The Latest

Muslims perform Friday prayers during Ramadan at Tanah Abang Market, Southeast Asia’s largest textile market, in Jakarta on Feb. 27, 2026.

Academia premium

Ramadan values provide basis for just welfare distribution

Beyond a spiritual ritual, Ramadhan offers a powerful economic blueprint for bridging Indonesia’s wealth gap and securing a just, prosperous future by 2045.

1 week ago

Army Infantry Battalion Raider 112 troops arrive at Krueng Geukuh Port in North Aceh, Aceh on March 10, 2026 after 15 months of a border security mission in Papua.

Academia premium

Economy, not infantry: Indonesia’s real shield against the Mideast crisis

As global oil prices soar and the rupiah weakens, the government is responding with a display of military hardware that masks, but cannot fix, a deepening economic crisis.

1 week ago

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) greets Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) as the latter arrives in Kuala Lumpur on April 15, 2025 for a three-day visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Academia

How intellectual diplomacy bridges East and West

The meeting of the best of the East and the West is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a substantive step toward reimagining the future of global intellectual engagement.

1 week ago

A drone view shows part of an Iranian missile that landed on a building's roof, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in East Jerusalem March 16, 2026.

Academia

Why European and Asian leaders reject the new American order

If the US continues to view NATO and its Pacific alliances through a purely transactional lens, it risks hollowing out the very institutions that have underpinned global stability for eight decades.

2 weeks ago

Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 14, 2026.

Academia premium

What the Iran crisis means for middle powers

The Iran crisis makes clear that a restoration spearheaded by middle powers is crucial for steering geopolitics away from a world governed by power alone.

2 weeks ago

Iraqi Kurdish people celebrate the Nowruz New Year festival in the town of Akre,in Iraq’s northern autonomous Kurdish region, on March 20, 2025.

Academia

Between Persian culture and Islamic theocracy: The politics of Iran’s Nowruz

Official warnings ahead of Nowruz in Iran have been explicit: Dissent will be treated not as protest but as insurrection.

2 weeks ago

Trucks are seen at an oil terminal in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on March 17, 2026. Oil prices resumed their push higher on March 17 as several countries pushed back against Donald Trump's demand that they help secure the key Strait of Hormuz, while Iran continued to target crude-producing neighbors in retaliation for attacks against it.

Academia

India’s balanced strategy in West Asia

As India navigates the volatile West Asian landscape, New Delhi’s masterclass in strategic autonomy proves that dialogue, not division, is the ultimate currency of power.

2 weeks ago

Farmers plant rice in a paddy field on June 28, 2025, in Lambaro, Aceh.

Academia premium

The smart way to food security isn’t self-sufficiency

Producing food is not the same as ensuring people can eat. The difference lies not in production but in income levels, logistics, market integration and purchasing power.

2 weeks ago

New civil servants take their oath on March 22, 2024, during an induction ceremony at Bogor City Hall in Bogor, West Java.

Academia

Indonesia’s civil–military boundaries under new pressure

The plan to train thousands of civil servants as military reservists raise risks of militarizing the bureaucracy.

2 weeks ago

Dangerous waters: A Royal Oman Police Coast Guard patrol boat surveys the seas on March 12, off Muscat, as shipping traffic comes to a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the United States-Israel war on Iran.

Academia premium

Lessons for Indonesia from the harbingers of a new tanker war

Learning from the ongoing war in the Middle East, it is essential for TNI-AL to consider increasing capacities for mine hunting in particular and underwater warfare in general.

2 weeks ago

Indonesian nationals, formerly employed in scam centers, line up during questioning at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Feb. 22, 2026, upon returning from Cambodia on commercial airliners.

Academia

Trafficked Indonesians risk blame after scam escape

Framing returnees as potential criminals is politically convenient but counterproductive. It discourages victims from seeking help from authorities.

2 weeks ago

The logos of ride-hailing service providers Gojek and Grab are seen on helmets worn by an online motorcycle taxi driver and another passenger in Jakarta on Jan. 26, 2026.

Academia premium

The early signs of platform power in our ride-hailing economy

As ride-hailing drivers report increasing scarcity and pay-to-participate barriers, the invisible hand of the algorithm is reshaping our digital economy. We must ask whether platform innovation is expanding opportunity or quietly redefining the terms of fairness for millions.

2 weeks ago

Cars are stuck at traffic at a segment of the trans-Java toll road in Semarang, Central Java, on March 14, 2026. Travelers from Greater Jakarta have begun the 'mudik' (exodus) ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday, which is expected to fall on March 20 or 21.

Academia premium

Muslims and Catholics walk together to achieve peace

Catholics and Muslims, together with all people of goodwill, are called to envision and open new paths through which life can be renewed.

2 weeks ago

(From left to right) Activists Delpedro Marhaen, Muzaffar Salim, Syahdan Husein and Khariq Anhar pose on March 6 ahead of the verdict hearing against them at the Central Jakarta District Court in Jakarta. The judges acquit the defendants of all charges of incitement during nationwide anti-government protests in August 2025 that later turned into riots.

Academia premium

Streets, screens and gavels: Indonesia’s new cycle of contention

The pulse of Indonesian democracy has moved to three arenas of contention: the asphalt of the streets, the viral volatility of social media and the high-stakes theater of the courtroom.

2 weeks ago

Homebound travelers: Passengers wait for the bus at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on April 4, 2024, that will transport them to West Sumatra as part of the free 2024 Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) program held by Gerindra Party lawmakers.

Academia premium

When Idul Fitri becomes an interrogation for single women

When the "warmth" of the Idul Fitri living room becomes a cold interrogation, a woman’s Ivy League degree and global achievements are often reduced to a single, stinging metric: her marital status.

2 weeks ago

A poster with flowers is seen during a demonstration on March 14 in Yogyakarta, in support of activist Andrie Yunus of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), who was attacked with acid by unidentified persons.

Academia premium

Attacks on human rights workers are a manifestation of state terrorism

When a state uses acid to silence its critics, it ceases to be a protector and becomes a perpetrator of terrorism.

2 weeks ago

Cheers: Racegoers dressed in Irish colors hurl their hats into the air on March 13, 2025, during St Patrick's Day celebrations at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, the United Kingdom.

Academia premium

Ireland and Indonesia celebrate shared friendship

We are honored that many citizens and friends of Ireland will commemorate St Patrick's Day across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

2 weeks ago

Ramadan under tents: Disaster survivors have a predawn meal (sahur) on Feb. 19, 2026, at an emergency shelter in Bundar village, Karang Baru, Aceh Tamiang, Aceh. About 23 families liveed at the site, and cook simple meals for their sahur as they observe the Ramadan fast.

Academia premium

Not an end game: Waqf to help Aceh recover from disasters

For waqf to play a meaningful role in post-disaster recovery, governance must be strengthened through clear asset mapping, professional management, transparency and integration with broader development and disaster-risk strategies.

2 weeks ago

Police officers deliver water bottles to rallygoers on Sept. 24, 2025, during a demonstration on National Farmers' Day in Jakarta.

Academia premium

More than just police reform: A social contract for policing

True police reform is more than a change in regulation; it is a living social contract where legitimacy is earned daily and security is co-produced by the police and the public.

2 weeks ago

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Andrie Yunus testifies on July 14, 2025, during a judicial review hearing against the revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta.

Academia premium

A brutal warning shot: The decisive moment for Indonesia’s fragile democracy

This cycle of impunity sends a clear and dangerous message: those who silence dissent through violence operate with the implicit protection of the state’s inaction.

2 weeks ago

Smoke rises from the Fujairah oil industry zone in the United Arab Emirates on March 14, 2026, reportedly from burning debris after air defenses intercepted a drone during the United States-Israel attacks on Iran.

Academia premium

Gulf states navigate US-Israeli war on Iran

The GCC countries are between a rock and a hard place as regards shaping the outcome of the ongoing Middle East conflict, assuming that Washington doesn't have a clear-cut strategy for the region.

2 weeks ago

Workers operate heavy equipment on Feb. 2 to remove damaged asphalt for repairs on a section of the Java Northern Highway in Pekalongan, Central Java.

Academia premium

The trillion-rupiah slumber: Why is public money sleeping in banks?

Hundreds of trillions of rupiah meant to build infrastructure, create jobs and stimulate local economies are simply gathering dust in bank vaults.

2 weeks ago

A phone user shops online on Oct. 13, 2025, for shoes in Semarang, Central Java.

Academia premium

Trust as the new currency of Indonesia’s e-commerce

Indonesia's e-commerce industry in 2026 is entering a more mature phase, shifting from low-trust, price-driven marketplaces toward authenticity-led “mall” environments anchored by authorized sellers.

2 weeks ago

The ASEAN secretariat building in Jakarta was inaugurated in August 2019 in conjunction with the 52nd anniversary of ASEAN.

Academia premium

ASEAN at 60: Why the region needs a visionary secretary-general

ASEAN needs a secretary-general that can act as both secretary and general - someone capable of convening difficult conversations, anticipating emerging conflicts and articulating a compelling vision for ASEAN’s role in the world.

2 weeks ago

The Thai bulk carrier "Mayuree Naree" spews smoke near the Strait of Hormuz after being struck on March 11, 2026, in this handout photo released by the Royal Thai Navy. The Thai Navy has said that at least 20 crew members were rescued from the vessel.

Academia premium

The Strait of Hormuz: Is international law under siege?

The ongoing US–Israeli attacks on Iran appear to contradict the spirit of international law and have contributed to heightened instability in the Middle East.

3 weeks ago

The art of charity: A visitor takes a close look at a statue on display during an art exhibition featuring collaborative works by Acehnese artists at the Aceh Arts and Culture Park in Banda Aceh, Aceh on Feb. 11, 2026. Featuring 96 works, the exhibition, titled “Creating and Giving”, was held to support victims of the November 2025 flash floods in Aceh.

Academia premium

When geopolitics fractures the world, culture keeps societies whole

In a world fractured by geopolitical rivalry and rising polarization, the quiet resilience of cultural expression, from Aceh to the global stage, may be the most enduring foundation for social peace.

3 weeks ago