Tech effect: A student collects data for electronic voter identification on Jan. 24, 2024, at SMA Kartika XIX-1 senior high school in Bandung, West Java. The Bandung administration reached out to high school students to achieve its target figure for first-time voters registered for the 2024 general election.

Why governing algorithmic politics in electoral law matters

Today, political consultants employ generative and predictive AI to process voter data and tailor campaign materials to support candidates.

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Trump’s letter makes BRICS a strategic bet for Indonesia

BRICS, though not a replacement for existing alliances, must be used as leverage. ...

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Revising history: A return to an incomplete narrative?

The rewriting of national history is a calculated move to bolster an increasingly authoritarian government, as it relies solely on scholars and historians with ties to those in power. ...

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Then defense minister and president-elect Prabowo Subianto (left) speaks with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Aug. 21, 2024, during their meeting in Port Moresby.

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PNG’s ASEAN bid: Rhetoric versus reality

In addition to challenges posed by Indonesia, PNG's longstanding ambition to join ASEAN encounters substantial hurdles, chiefly stemming from domestic issues.

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What the RI² flags might really be telling us

Yellow or red flags in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) received by Indonesian universities should not be seen as punishment but as a systemic signal that deserves thoughtful interpretation and reform.

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A transport road of a nickel mining site, constructed after forests were cleared is seen on April 14, next to a river residents say has been contaminated by mining operations in Central Halmahera, North Maluku.

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The missing people in Indonesia's energy road map

The road map does not have at its center the very people who stand to win or lose the most.

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Off-season downpour: A woman (left) attempts to drain water from inside her home on Monday as floods hit her neighborhood following heavy rainfall in Jakarta.

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Investing in nature for the economy and humanity amid climate chaos

Indonesia could explore Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), channeling funds from urban development to conserve valuable natural areas like riverbanks or wildlife habitats.

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People vote at a polling station during the presidential election in Seoul on June 3, 2025.

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A living constitution, a source of democratic resilience

The recent Constitutional Court decision, it is important to note, does not dismantle the fundamental electoral process, alter the established system of government or directly undermine the sovereignty of the people.

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Heads of state and senior delegates of (from left) Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, India, China, Ethiopia, Egypt and Iran pose for a family photo on July 6 during the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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BRICS is sliding toward irrelevance; the Rio summit made that clear

The potential of BRICS as an emerging new world order appears to be losing its luster as seen at the bloc's recently concluded summit, which the Chinese president did not attend and which produced a joint declaration that exposed the group's inner contradictions.

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Container gantry cranes are seen at the container terminal at Europe's second largest container port in Hamburg, northern Germany on Feb. 4.

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Caught between powers: Europe’s two-front trade war

As the United States and China wage trade wars against it, the European Union finds itself on uncharted terrain.

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One of the most debilitating factors for the elderly is loneliness, according to experts, which means senior residences should provide community interaction.

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Loneliness and isolation: The hidden threat to global health

Social health, our ability to form and maintain meaningful human connections, is just as essential to our well-being as physical and mental health.

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Foreign Minister Sugiono (center) looks on during the plenary session of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 9.

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ASEAN’s consistent support for Palestine

In a world that is increasingly polarized and selective toward the suffering of oppressed people, ASEAN cannot remain silent.

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People check candidates before casting their ballots during the 2024 regional head elections in Banda Aceh, Aceh on Nov. 27, 2024. Indonesians voted on Nov. 27 to pick local leaders in the country's biggest simultaneous regional election.

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A lesson in limits: How judicial activism threatens constitutional equilibrium

If unchecked, the Constitutional Court could transform into judicial tyranny, where the court violates the separation of powers and imposes ideological or political interpretations

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A woman with an infant and a toddler stands in the entrance to an empty container on Jan. 31, 2025, in Cilincing, North Jakarta, to where they were evacuated along with other residents of Sepatan village in Rorotan subdistrict after their homes were flooded.

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Solving the development crisis with quality finance

Efficient and equitable distribution of risk is key to reforming the international financial system which, in its current form, places undue burden on those countries that most need investment to develop.

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a signed letter on tariffs to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on July 7, 2025, at the White House in Washington, DC. United States President Donald Trump sent a similar letter to President Prabowo Subianto, warning that Washington will impose a 32 percent tariff unless Jakarta works out a trade and investment deal.

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How should Indonesia respond to Trump's 32 percent tariff?

Rather than raising high tariff walls, we believe strongly that the US and Indonesia are natural economic partners that should be deepening all aspects of our trade relationship.

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Residents of Gunung Tanjung village in Tasikmalaya regency, West Java, collect water from the Cipamutih River on Aug. 26, 2024 for daily consumption amid a prolonged drought.

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A global water treaty: The missing link in environmental governance

It is time for the global community to initiate negotiations on a single international water treaty, one that sets clear legal standards, promotes cooperation and guarantees the human right to water for all.

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Global South solidarity: BRICS summit banners are seen on July 3 near the Modern Art Museum (MAM), the location of the 2025 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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BRICS countries take on new responsibilities

It’s time for BRICS to take on a new responsibility as the voice of the Global South, making it a game changer in global governance.

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eads of state and top diplomats of (from left) Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, India, China, Ethiopia, Egypt and Iran pose for a family photo on July 6, 2025, during the 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Southeast Asia and the BRICS expansion

The latest BRICS summit embodied the ongoing shift in the world order from one of Western domination in rules and narratives to one counterweighted by Global South nations wielding agency.

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Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka attends the commemoration of Pancasila Day at the Pancasila Building, a historic hall within the Foreign Ministry's compound, in Jakarta on June 2.

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Gibran’s impeachment: Between constitutional instrument and political pressure tool

The impeachment issue could be kept alive as a strategic card for the 2029 presidential race, when Prabowo and Gibran may collide, rather than coalesce.

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Row upon row: A truck passes through the middle of an oil palm plantation on Nov. 20, 2024, in Muaro Jambi, Jambi.

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Strengthening legal certainty in the palm oil industry

Expectation is now high that Agrinas will serve as a breakthrough and solution to address legal uncertainties, particularly on overlapped land status which has been haunting many palm oil companies.

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Members of a local indigenous community in Sentani, Papua, perform an Isosolo dance on July 5 during the opening of the 2023 Sentani Lake Festival in Khalkote area in Jayapura, Papua province.

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Eastern Indonesia is not poor, we just misunderstand it

Indonesia's development strategies outlined by various administrations are predominantly top-down, influenced by paradigms from Java or Jakarta.

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President Prabowo Subianto (right, in cream top) addresses a limited cabinet meeting on June 23, 2025, at his private residence in Hambalang, Bogor regency, West Java.

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Indonesia's future: Adapt, act, and lead with feedback

It is time for Indonesia to throw out outdated, hypercautious leadership models and adopt a relexive approach with an experimentation mindset that embraces a feedback culture to harness the very pluralism that defines the country's identity.

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Between caution and potential: (From left to right) China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, President Prabowo Subianto, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Bahrain's National Security Advisor Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and South Africa's Deputy President Paul Mashatile attend a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 20 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

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SPIEF, Indonesia and a multipolar world

Indonesia emerges as a self-conscious regional power who aspires to mediate between G7 and BRICS, using Russia to diversify alliances and reduce exclusive commercial dependence on China and the United States.

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The BRICS summit second plenary session took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6.

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BRICS and the future of global diplomacy

BRICS nations, with their diverse technological and intelligence capabilities, are well-positioned to develop innovative conflict-resolution mechanisms that go beyond outdated Cold War frameworks.

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Rescuers search for missing victims of a ferry accident in the waters of the Bali Strait near Jembrana, Bali, on July 4.

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The high cost of a cheap life: Indonesia’s normalized ferry disasters

The Bali Strait tragedy highlights the fact that many ferries operate well beyond their technical lifespan.

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A woman carries a toddler on April 6, 2024, as she walks past an anti-hoax and anti-hate mural on a street in Hepi kampung of Joho subdistrict in Surakarta, Central Java.

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Middle East conflict and unfinished business in interfaith dialogues

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Activists from the Solidarity Network for Victims and Justice (JSKK) hold posters during the 861st Kamisan (Thursday) peaceful protest in front of the State Palace in Jakarta on May 15. The protests call on the Attorney General's Office to take concrete action on unresolved human rights violations that occurred in May 1998.

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Asia: From democracy's hope to repression's leader

Despite denials and official rebukes, ample evidence suggests that India and China, despite their differences, have adopted the same philosophy in tackling borderless repression.

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Heavy equipment is parked at a nickel mining site on Gag Island in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, on June 7 after the government ordered a halt to its operations over alleged violations of environmental law.

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Consistent, integrated regulations are pillars of the downstream industry

Strong, consistent, integrated regulations and implementations are indispensable to ensure downstream industry development as a key pillar of national economic transformation.

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