A general view at the nickel smelter of PT Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, on Aug. 2, 2024.

Restoring technocratic rationality and rule-based governance

We have entered an era of rhetorical abundance but institutional scarcity.

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Donald Trump's pivot from Asia

Trump spent much of the last week of October in Asia but failed to create enduring structures in the economic sphere or put to rest increasing doubts about the United States’ strategic commitment to the region. ...

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Purbaya’s test and Prabowo’s enemies within

The new finance minister has become an inadvertent disrupter of a decade-long loyalty entrenched in the bureaucracy through his policies, grounded in economic rational, creating both hope among the public and a test for the President. ...

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Trump’s gas gambit hurts allies and the planet

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Bangladesh’s grand politics, who is really directing the show?

The country's interim government shoulders a responsibility so heavy it is practically collapsing under it.

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Trade must serve people, not just markets

Unless development sits at the center of trade policy, globalization will widen inequality instead of narrowing it.

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Workers are pictured at a factory of fabric and garment producer PT Sari Warna Asli on July 17 in Surakarta, Central Java.

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Indonesian deindustrialization: Creative destruction or destructive creation?

Why do Indonesian firms not innovate?

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands before a picture of the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, at Ankara Esenboga Airport on Dec. 12, 2024.

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How international crises help authoritarians

Changes to the international order have reinforced authoritarian regimes.

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Activists carry umbrellas on Oct. 23, 2025, during the weekly Kamisan (Thursdays) peaceful demonstration in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta.

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‘Revolusi’ versus Indonesia's attempt to rewrite history

Rewriting history is not inherently wrong, but when it is done opaquely with an aim to benefit the powers that be in today's regime, it not only negates facts but also the very journey our nation and people trod to get where we are.

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UN is imperfect but indispensable

The question is not whether the UN has failed, but whether humanity can afford a world without it.

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Safeguarding autonomy in AI systems

The rise of agentic AI, or automous artificial intelligence systems that can make decisions and act with little to no human prompts or supervision, signals a need to revisit and rethink the practical, legal and ethical aspects of cybersecurity frameworks.

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Customers make payments using the QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesia Standard) at a merchant in Tulungagung, East Java, on Aug. 21, 2025.

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Jakarta is betting on India’s digital playbook

Today, the currents shaping the relationship between the Indo-Pacific’s two largest democracies are not trade winds, but the terabits flowing through fiber-optic cables and the instant signals of digital payment systems.

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Wearing masks of national heroes, activists rally near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Sept. 15, 2019, to demonstrate against the draft revision of the Criminal Code.

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Controversies surrounding national hero nominations

The list of nominees for new national heroes this year revealed several names that have stirred up controversy.

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A man stands next to the chassis of an electric vehicle on July 18 at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2024, which ran until July 28 at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, Banten.

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Can ASEAN build trust in its electric future?

Indonesia’s EV ambitions could anchor the green transition in Southeast Asia, but transparency and steady alignment of policy and goals will decide who leads.

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Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (left) and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet (center) shake hands next to United States President Donald Trump, on Oct. 26, 2025, the day of the signing of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand, on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

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Trump’s return puts ASEAN back in spotlight

Trump’s presence, without doubt, has placed ASEAN once again on the global stage.

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The story of MTV: The downfall of a music disrupter

The demise of MTV and the new disruption of on-demand platforms reflects a major shift in the global cultural landscape.

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Courts are shaping the future of climate action

In the absence of political will, the legal system has become a key driver of climate progress.

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United States President Donald Trump (center) joins performers for a dance during the welcome ceremony next to Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) as he arrives on Air Force One at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on Oct. 26, 2025.

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The Asian grammar of power

If Trump is willing to listen, he will be far more likely to communicate effectively with Asians and achieve positive results from this tour.

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President Prabowo Subianto attends the 28th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit on Oct. 27, 2025, during the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur.

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Indonesia and ASEAN: Another missed opportunity

Despite the many milestones of the 47th ASEAN Summit, President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to leave before its conclusion has left observers with lingering doubts over his administration's foreign policy stance and direction as well as its commitment to the regional bloc.

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Police personnel part of a United Station peacekeeping force stand to attention during a ceremony commemorating the 78th National Police Day in Jakarta on July 1, 2024.

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Beyond troops, building peace

Security has been defined through militaristic and state-centric approaches, often overlooking women’s unique experiences and contributions in times of conflict.

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A motorcycle rider braves the rain on March 14 in the Senopati area, South Jakarta.

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Microplastic rain: A call for responsible producers and good governance

When microplastics falls from the sky, it becomes clear that no place, public or private, is truly free from plastic contamination.

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Balinese farmers prepare rice seedlings for planting on Jan. 1, 2014, at a rice terrace in Jatiluwih village in Tabanan regency, Bali. The local farmers have for generations used a complex irrigation system called subak.

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Heritage agriculture as a climate solution

Around the world, communities have developed agricultural systems born from hardship that have endured for centuries.

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People queue at an outlet of state-owned pawnshop Pegadaian in Semarang.

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Pawnshop industry: Paving the way to an inclusive economy

The pawnshop industry's journey to becoming a robust market is driven by stronger capital and human resources, innovative products, prudential regulation and supervision, ecosystem and consumer protection.

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A message reading “AI artificial intelligence“, a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 27.

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ASEAN firms can’t afford to ignore EU’s AI Act

Brussels’ landmark AI ruling has a global reach. For ASEAN businesses, early compliance is the key to turning regulation into advantage.

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

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Is Papua New Guinea part of Southeast Asia?

There is nothing in the ASEAN Charter that rules out the possibility of Papua New Guinea one day joining the club.

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Setting the benchmark higher for ASEAN

Malaysia has proven its ability to walk and balance the delicate path of non-alignment.

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Graves are seen after the commemoration ceremony of the cessation of World War II in Asia at the Menteng Pulo Dutch war cemetery in Jakarta on Aug. 15, 2024.

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Untangling the killing of Brig. Gen. Mallaby in revolutionary Surabaya

In Surabaya, an unknown assassin shot Brig. Gen. Aubertin Mallaby through the open window of his car and for 80 years the mystery has remained: who killed Mallaby?

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A worker sorts copper production at El Teniente mine, the world's largest underground copper mine in Machali, near Rancagua, Chile, on April 2, 2025.

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Copper Study Group highlights impact of mine supply hits

Copper has a long history of mine supply disruption, but this year is proving to be a particularly troubled one for a sector that has been racing to keep up with smelter demand.

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Excavators transfer soil to transport trucks on July 28, 2023, at a nickel mine operated by nickel mining company Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi.

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Turning resource wealth into rules-based prosperity

Resource abundance alone is not destiny. Indonesia’s next challenge is to turn mineral wealth into sustainable, rules-based prosperity.

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A year that shaped the narrative: Indonesia’s cultural renaissance begins

This year marks one year since the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia’s Culture Ministry - the first time in our nation’s 79 years of independence that culture stands with a ministry of its own, a historic reaffirmation of our constitutional mandate, enshrined in Article 32(1) of the 1945 Constitution, which declares that “the State shall advance the national culture amid world civilization by guaranteeing the freedom of the people to preserve and develop their cultural values.”

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