President Prabowo Subianto (center) delivers a speech on March 28, 2025, at the signing ceremony of a Government Regulation (PP) on electronic system providers governance in child protection at the courtyard of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. The policy, a derivative regulation of the Electronics Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, mandates that online platforms prioritize child protection over commercial pursuits.

My personal take on President Prabowo’s achievements and challenges

There is a lack of clear explanations for new government programs and initiatives, leading to uncertainty about their implementation.

3 weeks ago

Academia premium

The flawed logic of Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and the impact on Indonesia

To call this "reciprocal" is a stretch. If anything, it is retaliatory math disguised as fairness. ...

3 weeks ago

Academia

Myanmar’s quake exposes the junta’s most inhumane weapon: Silence

Any aid or infrastructure must be safeguarded from being exploited by the Myanmar military junta as tools of control. ...

3 weeks ago

The Latest

Blue on blue: European Union flags flutter aloft on Sept. 12, 2024, the day European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde spoke to reporters following the Governing Council's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany.

Academia

Rearm Europe: More of a political move than a military one

Europe’s Rearm Europe initiative faces hurdles in achieving its military goals but signals a clear political message to the US and Russia.

3 weeks ago

Shadow boxing?: The shadow of a Philippine Army personnel is seen cast upon crates of relief items from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the victims of super typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 13, 2013, at Villamor Air Base in Manila.

Academia premium

Philanthropy in an era of declining development aid

Now more than ever, aid programs must focus squarely on proven solutions like investments in prenatal nutrition, rather than on flashy, multisectoral schemes with no immediate payoff.

3 weeks ago

Demonstrators take part in the Hands Off! day of action against the administration of United States President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on April 05, 2025 on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Academia premium

Trump’s tariffs: Decline of a superpower

US trade policy and the reckless flaunting of its economic power may lead to an irreversible relative decline of the US as an economic superpower and of US exceptionalism.

3 weeks ago

Stack 'em up: Workers move containers on Sep. 10, 2024, at the Port of Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

Academia premium

Navigating protectionism: Indonesia and fragmented global trade

The world faces a new reality where trade becomes a matter of national security and global rules are eroded as power dominates.

3 weeks ago

Activists and intellectuals from Voices of Indonesian Mothers hold a rally at an intersection of Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on March 28, 2025, demanding authorities to end violence against students protesting the revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law in cities across the country.

Academia premium

'Oligarchization' blocks meaningful public participation in lawmaking

Collective action that involves all stakeholders of civil society is necessary to prevent the country's encroaching descent into an oligarchy.

3 weeks ago

Kitchen staff prepare assemble lunch trays at a caterer in the West Java city of Bogor on Jan. 6, 2025, the first day of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meal program.

Academia premium

Restoring free meals program as a child nutrition initiative

Considering that the free meals program has minimal socioeconomic impacts in the short term, it would be better to revert the program to its original design as a policy on improving child nutrition, which would have positive effects in terms of cost, food quality and fiscal management.

3 weeks ago

United States President Donald Trump unveils his new tariff policy on April 2, 2025, in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, DC.

Academia premium

Trump's tariffs will accelerate US economic decline

Redistributive taxation, while it is not easy to craft or implement, can encourage innovation and the equitable distribution of growth benefits, whereas Trump's tariffs will only undermine the US' competitive edge and do harm.

3 weeks ago

Academia premium

An LLM for ASEAN, by ASEAN

A truly collaborative LLM reflecting the region’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape has yet to emerge.

3 weeks ago

Breathe easy: Health workers administer a chest X-ray to a toddler on Feb. 22, 2025 at a Puskesmas (community health center) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, under a free TB screening program provided by the city’s health agency.

Academia premium

When exchange rates decide who can get medical treatment

Because when exchange rates dictate the cost of medicines, they also quietly influence who can get medical treatment and who cannot.

3 weeks ago

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

Academia premium

Tariffs, tensions and turning points: A strategy for ASEAN sovereignty

The paradox of economic interdependence and strategic anxiety underscores ASEAN’s urgent need for unity and legal clarity.

3 weeks ago

Business as usual: Trucks haul freight on Feb. 26, 2025 at the container terminal of Batu Ampar Port on Batam Island, Riau Islands province.

Academia premium

Think carefully before maneuvering through US tariffs

Indonesia must tread carefully with a political economy approach to trade diplomacy following US tariffs, maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships and avoiding impacted countries from turning into adversarial competitors.

3 weeks ago

Members of labor organizations protest against the government’s decision to increase subsidized fuel prices, outside the House of Representatives building in Jakarta on Sept. 6, 2022.

Academia

The weaponization of tariffs and the new era of coercive trade

Authoritarian-leaning governments are likely to instrumentalize these trade pressures to justify greater repression.

3 weeks ago

A man uses his phone on March 6, 2025, while waiting for customers at a clothing shop in Tanah Abang Market in Jakarta.

Academia premium

A fragile moment, a firm future: Why Indonesia's economy can endure

History often reminds us that it is in these periods of turbulence that a country’s economic maturity is truly measured.

4 weeks ago

Offering assistance: An official explains to a taxpayer the use of the citizenship identity number as their taxpayer identification number on March 3, 2024, at Palangka Raya tax office in the Central Kalimantan capital city.

Academia premium

MSME tax limbo: Government inaction fuels uncertainty

Indonesia's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are grappling with mounting uncertainty as the promised extension of the 0.5 percent final income tax rate remains unfulfilled.

4 weeks ago

United States President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs on April 2, 2025, during an event in the Rose Garden titled “Make America Wealthy Again” at the White House in Washington, DC.

Academia

New modeling reveals full impact of Trump’s’ tariffs, with the US hit hardest

Two different models indicate that in the long run, Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs stand to do more harm to the US than any of the countries it aims to target; nonetheless, they don't bode well for either international trade or the global economy.

4 weeks ago

Technicians inspect rooftop solar panels on Aug. 2, 2023, at Claro Hotel Makassar in the South Sulawesi provincial capital.

Academia premium

Building a sustainable future: Asia’s path in a transforming world

Climate risk, energy security and food resilience are regional challenges that require cooperation. True sustainability can only be achieved through joint action.

4 weeks ago

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's frigate JS Kumano docks at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on May 9, 2023. The Mogami-class frigate was on a deployment to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to strengthen cooperation and exercise with navies in those countries.

Academia

Japan and ASEAN: Moving beyond symbolism to real strategic depth

Despite the constraints of Article 9 of its pacifist Constitution, Tokyo has found creative ways to support ASEAN’s defense capabilities without violating its non-military principles.

4 weeks ago

Activists hold umbrellas and posters that read “No country without its people. Listen to our voice!“ during the 856th Kamisan rally in front of the State Palace in Jakarta on March 20, 2025.

Academia premium

How Aristotle can save us

Aristotle offers a framework that is strikingly relevant for this age of moral confusion and civic fragmentation.

4 weeks ago

United States President Donald Trump calls on a reporter to ask a question during a cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Academia

Oil markets take risky bet on Trump's threats on Russia, Iran

Oil diplomacy could become a hallmark of Trump's second term in office, but energy markets have mostly shrugged off his recent whirlwind of threats against Iran and Russia.

4 weeks ago

Negotiating AI's future: Participants attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit on Feb. 10 in Paris.

Academia premium

Two models for agentic AI

Despite all the commentary and hype around agentic AI, many big questions remain unaddressed, the biggest being which type of AI agent the tech industry is seeking to develop?

1 month ago

Regional impact: A man votes during Australia's general election on May 21, 2022, at a polling station at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Academia

What Australia’s election holds for the Pacific

Australia’s policies toward the Pacific will continue to be primarily driven by China’s resurgence, no matter who is elected.

1 month ago

People from Bahmo city in Myanmar's northern Kachin state cross a river as they arrive at Sinkin village on Dec. 6, 2024, fleeing the fighting between Myanmar's military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Academia

The Myanmar conflict: How US-Russia dynamics could favor China

Beijing could appear as a more appealing option to ethnic resistance groups in Myanmar’s civil war, especially given the ongoing evolution in Washington as the Trump White House shifts to Russia's side in Ukraine and moves to dissolve USAID.

1 month ago

President Prabowo Subianto adjusts his cap March 24, 2025, prior to inaugurating 31 ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary at the State Palace in Jakarta.

Academia

Just 5 months in office, Prabowo’s problems are piling up

The former defense minister and Army general has met with a series of socioeconomic stumbles less than midway through his presidency after sailing through the 2024 elections, seemingly creating new problems while trying to resolve the country's key issues.

1 month ago

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus salutes attendees upon arrival at the Bangabhaban to take his oath as the head of the interim Bangladeshi government, in Dhaka on Aug. 8, 2024.

Academia

Taking stock of Bangladesh post-Hasina

Drastic reform may not happen, but Bangladesh’s future would be better than the past.

1 month ago

A firefighter sprays water on burning peatland in Deuah village, West Aceh regency, Aceh on Oct. 26, 2024.

Academia premium

Central banks must stem the nature crisis

A stable financial system is highly dependent on nature, and nature is increasingly in crisis.

1 month ago

A view of a container terminal at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Trade Minister Budi Santoso has said Indonesia is ready to face the potential impact of a trade war between the United States and China.

Academia

Economic fears can create a self-fulfilling prophecy – don’t let them

Today’s hailstorms of hostility are already hitting economies around the world, with businesses and individuals taking shelter from the unpredictable conditions.

1 month ago