US President Donald Trump looks on during an event on Sept. 2 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC to announce that the Space Force Command will move from the US state of Colorado to Alabama.

Violence as policy in Trump's America

Trump has been signaling for a decade or so that political violence committed by his supporters is acceptable and might even be rewarded.

5 months ago

Academia

Haj and umrah ministry: Caring for the faithful

The formation of a haj and umrah ministry reflects a domestic commitment to improving religious services and a broader diplomatic effort to elevate Indonesia’s role in global religious affairs. ...

5 months ago

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Under Prabowo, Indonesia’s Navy sets sail for bigger ambitions

Frigates equipped with long-range firepower and advanced sensors, alongside heavyweight corvettes are expected to spearhead Indonesia's blue-water fleet capable of sustained Indo-Pacific operations. ...

5 months ago

The Latest

President Prabowo Subianto (center) speaks at a cabinet meeting on Aug. 6 in the State Palace, Central Jakarta.

Academia premium

Beyond compliance: Toward a culture of integrity

A gap is widening between the people's expectations of fairness and transparency, and the state's ability to deliver them consistently.

5 months ago

Heads of state from member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) pose for a family photo on Sept. 11, 2025, at the PIF Leaders Meeting in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara.

Academia

PIF leaders reach agreement on big issues, but unity remains elusive

The recently held PIF Leaders Meeting showed why true integration remains challenging while island nations are at different stages of independence.

5 months ago

A man is covered in Nepal's national flag as a fire rages in the president's office in Kathmandu on Sept. 9, 2025.

Academia

Nepal in crisis: From protest to political reckoning

Young people must be given a chance to help rebuild democratic systems, their demands must be addressed.

5 months ago

Suspects from Ukraine and Russia are presented to the media following a police raid on a suspected drug lab in Tibubeneng village, Badung regency in Bali on May 13, 2024.

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Weighing the urgency of Indonesia’s extradition pact with Russia

Indonesia might have become a safe haven for Russians in Southeast Asia who wish to avoid war in Ukraine

5 months ago

Pratiwi Ariyanti, a 38-year-old ojol (online motorcycle transportation driver), rides her motorcycle in Jakarta on Sept. 3, 2025 after picking up food ordered and donated by a customer from overseas in solidarity with the Indonesian protests.

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Affan’s tragedy reveals that millions of young Indonesians remain expendable

Development plans like the Long-term National Development Plan (RJPN) 2025-2045 often frame young people as economic and state instruments, valued for future productivity and conformity to state-approved personas.

5 months ago

Displaced Palestinians evacuating southbound from Gaza City travel on foot and by vehicle along the coastal road on Sept. 13 in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. (Photo by / AFP)

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Gaza’s desperation and the agony of religious diplomacy

Religious diplomacy emphasizes the role of faith, morality and shared values of religious traditions in seeking peace. It also bridges and encourages mutual understanding and tolerance.

5 months ago

A gas station employee fills a vehicle on Mar. 9, 2023, at a Shell gas station in Jakarta.

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Breaking the bottleneck: Reforming the fuel distribution system

The issue is more than a logistical hiccup, it reflects deeper regulatory and market governance challenges.

5 months ago

A female student holds a poster listing demands on Sept. 9 during a protest in front of the House of Representatives building in Senayan, Jakarta.

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Careful, Mr. President: The world is watching

Our system calls itself democratic yet remains deeply uneasy, even hostile, toward opposition.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gesture during a joint press briefing at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Jan. 25, 2025.

Academia

India and ASEAN must savor the mango flavors

Instead of being preoccupied with how other powers such as China or the United States might perceive our cooperation, India and ASEAN should focus on working together for their own sake.

5 months ago

People make financial transactions at a branch office of state-owned pawnshop Pegadaian in Semarang, Central Java, in this file photo from 2015.

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The untold business of Indonesia's private pawnshops

While the OJK has issued a regulation to make licensing easier for private pawnshops, the government has yet to address the issues of governance, oversight and whether or not to integrate this lucrative but marginalized business so it can truly contribute to growth.

5 months ago

Newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa sings the national anthem during the handover ceremony from his predecessor Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Sept. 9 at the Finance Ministry in Jakarta.

Academia

The unfiltered leader: When confidence clashes with convention

Because Purbaya arrived without in-group credentials, his blunt, merit-first style was framed as a status threat.

5 months ago

Thumbs up: Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa reacts to journalists after his first hearing with House of Representatives Commission XI, overseeing finance, in Jakarta on Sept. 11, 2025.

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SAL: A double-edged fiscal sword

Fragmenting cash balances across multiple banks increases inefficiency, as funds may exist but remain inaccessible when urgently needed, the IMF has warned.

5 months ago

Bags of rice are seen piled up at 'Koike rice shop' in Tokyo on Feb. 14, 2025. The Japanese government said it will release its stockpile of rice, the nation's cherished staple food, reserved for emergency use in response to soaring prices.

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Food cartels threaten Prabowo's goal of food self-sufficiency

For years, a network of traders, importers, corrupt officials and political brokers have manipulated the supply and price of staple foods like rice, sugar, garlic, beef and cooking oil.

5 months ago

Former Bangka Belitung Islands energy and mineral resources agency heads Amir Syahbana (left) and Suranto Wibowo (right) sit in the defendants' chair at the Jakarta Corruption Court on July 31, 2024 during an indictment hearing pertaining to corruption in state-owned tin company PT Timah. Prosecutors charged the defendants, including a fellow former agency head Rusbani, of self-enrichment that caused Rp 300 trillion in state losses.

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How AI can revolutionize asset seizure, the fight against graft

The use of AI in asset forfeiture is already a reality in countries where advanced analytics are used to identify high-risk transactions and complex criminal networks.

5 months ago

China's President Xi Jinping (center) attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin on Sept. 1, 2025, in this photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik.

Academia

Can China rewrite the rules of global governance?

The SCO summit at Tianjin, China, followed by a military parade in Beijing, signal China's effort to contest the erratic policies of the Trump administration and change the global and regional orders.

5 months ago

Women attend a mass prayer on Aug. 14, 2025, at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in provincial capital Banda Aceh to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Aceh peace agreement.

Academia

Aceh’s waqf experiment: When an age-old tradition powers a new economy

Aceh's unique cultural identity and administrative status makes it fertile ground for trialing waqf-based development initiatives that could provide a contemporary model for Islamic economies worldwide.

5 months ago

A health worker measures the height of a women participating in the free birthday health screening program at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Serang, Banten, on May 15, 2025.

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Ovarian cancer, a silent and stealthy threat to women

Unlike breast and cervical cancer, no routine and simple screening tests can help patients detect ovarian cancer.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto delivers his State of the Nation address on Aug. 15 during the annual People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) plenary meeting at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta.

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Did Prabowo’s fiscal vision leave people behind?

For a leader democratically elected by the people and with historic legislative support, it is ironic that President Prabowo Subianto finds himself on the line in less than a year of his tenure.

5 months ago

President Prabowo Subianto (left front row) stands next to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President China Xi Jinping during a military parade on Sept. 3 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

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Honoring history, cherishing peace and creating a brighter future for humanity

History serves both as the best textbook and dose of sobriety.

5 months ago

Demonstrators hold illustrations of Affan Kurniawan during a protest in front of the Surabaya Police headquarters in East Java on Aug. 30, 2025, two days after the ‘ojol’ (motorcycle transportation) driver was killed when he was run over by a tactical vehicle of the Jakarta Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

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UNGA: Human rights and Prabowo's political test

Following the mass demontrations earlier this month and its devastating toll, the government needs to take proactive steps toward accountability, or the President's appearance at the UN General Assembly next week could be met with a negative response over Indonesia's pattern of state impunity.

5 months ago

Newly appointed Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa waves to journalists following his inauguration on Sept. 8 at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

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Sri Mulyani vs Purbaya: Balancing speed with discipline

To translate fiscal policy into soccer terms, former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati played defense while her predecessor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa prefers offensive play.

5 months ago

A farmer harvests arabica coffee beans at his farm at the foot of Mount Puntang, Bandung regency, West Java.

Academia

How Europe’s deforestation law could change global coffee trade

On the ground, the rule change could transform how coffee is grown, traded and sold.

5 months ago

(Source: Henry Cruz and Lili Vallejo, 2023, ‘The Prioritization of External Security as a Means of Guaranteeing Multidimensional Security and Economic Growth’)

Academia

The world is back to the 1930s war economy

The United Nations has issued a five-point agenda in an attempt to redefine security but the bottom line is that war is profitable and it is the same old battle of short-term vs. long-term gains, pitted against the very survival of our species.

5 months ago

Residents wade through floodwaters in their neighbourhood following heavy rainfall on Sept. 10 in Denpasar, Bali.

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Rivers, rituals and rubbish: Can Bali stay beautiful?

Can ecotourism be part of the fix? Yes, if Bali uses the legal framework, community willpower, and tourism revenue.

5 months ago

A female student holds a poster listing demands during a protest on Sept. 9 in front of the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta. The action was carried out to advocate for the 17+8 people’s demands.

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Inequality and the demand for emancipatory democracy

This striking disparity renders democracy meaningless. On one hand, people have the right to vote, on the other, they are trapped in an increasingly alienating economic and political system.

5 months ago

Former members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) perform ‘asar’ (afternoon prayer) on Dec. 21, 2024, during an event to declare the terrorist group’s disbandment held in the convention hall at Tirtonadi bus terminal in Surakarta, Central Java.

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When minors become targets of violent extremist groups

Radicalization in the digital age doesn't fit neatly into a prescribed box of right-wing extremism, and protecting minors vulnerable to online influences begins with offline efforts at home to reach out, connect and listen to the multitude of mixed issues at the root of adolescent angst.

5 months ago

Old and new: Former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (left) and her successor Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa greet journalists on Sept. 9 after a ceremony to mark the transfer of authority in Jakarta.

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Cabinet reshuffle: Prabowo’s move to realize 8% growth target?

Purbaya’s appointment is to address public frustration with Indonesia's economic conditions, particularly regarding tax increases, unemployment and layoffs, issues that Sri Mulyani failed to resolve.

5 months ago

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