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View all search resultsYearender: Rising militarism marks civil-military shift in 2025
Analysts argue President Prabowo Subianto and his administration have been using the Indonesian Military (TNI) as a tool to push for not only political consolidation and flagship programs, but long-term political and electoral interests.
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New Indonesian Army officers pose for pictures during a commissioning ceremony for around 2,000 graduates from military and police academies on July 23 at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
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ndonesia has seen a steady shift in the civil-military balance in the past year, with the Indonesian Military (TNI) and its officers taking on a broader role in civilian affairs and repositioning its role as a “multifunctional” armed force under President Prabowo Subianto.
While the involvement of the military in non-defense affairs has been ongoing since the tenure of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, analysts noted such involvement has significantly intensified under Prabowo.
Prabowo’s reliance on the military translated into action almost immediately throughout the year, with thousands of troops being deployed to run much of Prabowo’s flagship free nutritious meal program, open paddy fields to achieve food security, seize illegal oil palm plantations and manufacture medicines.
The President also presided over the nation’s largest structural military expansion during peacetime in decades, officiating six additional regional Army commands (Kodam) and 100 new territorial development battalions, alongside new units for the Navy, Air Force and some special forces.
The TNI also saw the establishment of 100 new so-called Territorial Development Battalions not only to strengthen national defense, but also to assist in farming and fisheries to help improve local communities’ welfare. A total of 500 new battalions were planned to be deployed across the country in the next five years.
“Throughout this year, we have witnessed a clear normalization of militarization in civilian spaces. Ordinary situations are treated as crises to justify military intervention,” said D. Nicky Fahrizal, researcher from Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Read also: Militarism, top-down policy muddle Prabowo’s first year: CSIS
