Prabowo’s first year in office has shown how deeply he has personalized Indonesia’s foreign policy, turning what was once a collective and deliberative process into a series of gestures driven by instinct, emotion and self-image.

Unlike his predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who appeared indifferent to foreign affairs and happy to delegate them to ministers or special envoys, Prabowo is visibly captivated by the theater of diplomacy. But behind this lies something more troubling: the consolidation of foreign policy into the hands of a single man who listens to no one and consults almost nobody.

Prabowo’s approach appears to leave little room for professional diplomats, experts or institutional advice. His decisions often seem sudden, uncoordinated and driven by personal conviction rather than long-term strategy. What used to be Indonesia’s greatest diplomatic strength: its patience, its moral posture, its ability to mediate, is now being replaced by displays of personal bravado and unpredictability. 

Jokowi reduced the country’s diplomacy to a matter of salesmanship, frequently reminding ambassadors that their primary duty was to “sell the country,” attract investors and open markets. The language of diplomacy was replaced by that of commerce.

If Jokowi belittled the ministry, Prabowo has begun to suffocate it. The Foreign Ministry no longer dares to propose ideas, initiatives or alternative views. Its officials, once known for their analytical independence and strategic thinking, now operate under an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. The result is paralysis, not because there is no capacity, but because there is no permission to use it.

One of the clearest examples came last month, when Prabowo suddenly decided to attend the United States President Donald Trump-led “peace talk” on Gaza in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The announcement caught Indonesia’s diplomats completely off guard. Soon after, several international media outlets reported that Prabowo was expected to visit Tel Aviv to meet Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu as part of discussions surrounding a revived Abraham Accord framework. The Foreign Ministry, blindsided by the reports, was forced to respond hastily, telling journalists that “there is no plan”, an unusually candid admission that the ministry had not been informed, let alone consulted.