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CSIS celebrates golden jubilee amid changing Indonesia
The idea for the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) originated in the discussions and activities of several groups of Indonesian scholars, including students who graduated abroad and activists based in Indonesia in the 1960s, serving as a forum for intellectuals who would bear witness to and go on to shape the country’s fledgling democracy in the early 21st century.
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Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) cofounder and vice chairman of the board of trustees Jusuf Wanandi (right, sitting), cofounder Clara Yuwono (second left, setting), former executive director Rizal Sukma (third left, sitting), executive director Philips J. Vermonte (center, standing) and head of the center's economics department Yose Rizal Damuri (fifth left, standing) pose for a picture during an event held by the CSIS in Jakarta on Aug. 22, 2019. (JP/Dian Septiari)
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ndonesia’s leading think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), celebrates its 50th anniversary on Wednesday, at a time vastly different than when it was founded in the early 1970s, just a few years into then-president Soeharto’s New Order regime.
The idea for the institution originated in the discussions and activities of several groups of Indonesian scholars, including students who had graduated abroad and activists based in Indonesia in the 1960s, serving as a forum for intellectuals who would bear witness to and go on to shape the country’s fledgling democracy in the early 21st century.
The CSIS was formally established on Sept. 1, 1971, a time when the Indonesian leadership was determined to govern technocratically under the New Order.
With the support of Ali Moertopo and Soedjono Hoemardani, who were close confidants of Soeharto, the CSIS was tasked with research and analysis on national development for the administration.
CSIS cofounder Jusuf Wanandi recalled the organization’s humble beginning when he and his activist friends still occupied a makeshift headquarters on Jl. Kesehatan, Central Jakarta, and never thought that the think tank would grow into its stature today.
“At the beginning, to be honest, it was a day-to-day affair. We simply did not have enough people in 1971 to do all the work of the organization,” Jusuf said in an interview with The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Jusuf added that some individuals within the CSIS could in fact have had Cabinet-role positions but Soeharto was reluctant to give them those positions due to their ethnicity.
