Manufactured crime panics have long been used to rationalise extrajudicial state power in Indonesia. I examine the recent 'begal' crime scare in Jakarta in context of growing economic precarity, military expansion and the political economy of fear. indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/is-jakarta-t...

Is Jakarta turning into Gotham? How viral crime panics become pretext for expanding military visibility

Moments of crime anxiety in Indonesia routinely trigger authoritarian nostalgia for Petrus‑style ‘shock therapy’. This is a reference to the early‑1980s ‘mysterious shootings’ campaign in which securi...

indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au

Why would a strongman government be rattled by a cartoon flag? Some comment for Aljazeera on the One Piece phenomenon and how it's triggered a deeper paranoia within the Prabowo administration www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/...

Indonesians raise anime pirate flag in protest as nation marks independence

A Japanese cartoon pirate flag has been raised across Indonesia as a sign of growing frustration with the government.

aljazeera.com

A new piece on gangster populism in Prabowo's Indonesia indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/gangster-pop...

Gangster populism: political impediment or strategic asset for Prabowo?

Paramilitary mass organisations (ormas) have re-emerged in recent months as volatile high-profile actors, prompting concerns over the potential resurgence of informal coercive practices under Prabowo’...

indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au

Worth re-reading last year article by @iwilson69.bsky.social fulcrum.sg/an-election-...

An Election to End All Elections? | FULCRUM

Indonesia’s upcoming presidential and legislative elections will take place against a backdrop of increasing party and legislative buy-in to the idea of downsizing the scale of direct elections. Wh…

fulcrum.sg

For those in Perth, on next week

New article. Observing grassroots engagements with electoral politics I argue top-down polarization in Indonesia bares little resemblance to how identity is experienced in heterogeneous urban contexts,with marginal gropups engaging in polarisation strategically bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/publication/...

SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia Vol. 40/1 (March 2025) | ISEAS Publishing

SOJOURN is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to the study of social and cultural issues in Southeast Asia. It publishes empirical and theoretical research articles with a view to promoting and diss...

bookshop.iseas.edu.sg

From the team that brought you halal coal mining, a religious rationalisation for bribes. www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/202...

Ketua PBNU di DPR: Sogokan untuk yang Hak Dibolehkan Sebagian Ulama

Meski sebagaian ulama membolehkan. Ketua PBNU Ulil Abshar Abdalla berharap pendapat ini tidak dipakai karena bisa jadi celah bagi KPK bertindak.

cnnindonesia.com

"What Israel has done to Gaza may herald a new era of state violence with no rules and no crimes. Everything is permitted, and nothing will be prosecuted. No child is off-limits to the snipers. Missiles are programmed to home in on hospitals and doctors.... www.thenation.com/article/worl...

We Have a Ceasefire Deal, but This Isn’t the End

The widely reported agreement must hold. We haven’t begun to understand the full scope of the horrors Israel wrought. And Palestine is still not free.

thenation.com

In 2019 Pemuda Pancasila and other ormas, backed by the police, collaborated to contain GRIB. Having consolidated and with their patron now president, GRIB will be pushing hard to expand recruit in new regions. Conflicts of this kind are likely to become more frequent. www.detik.com/jateng/berit...

Ricuh Ormas PP Vs GRIB di Blora, Polisi: 12 Orang Luka

Polisi turun tangan terkait ricuh ormas Pemuda Pancasila (PP) dan Gerakan Rakyat Indonesia Bersatu (GRIB) Jaya di Blora. Polisi menyebut ada 12 korban luka.

detik.com

On the latest Talking Indonesia podcast I chat with Indo-Pacific Research Centre colleague Jacqui Baker on Indonesia's regional elections and shrinking parameters of contestation against a backdrop of elite calls for returns to direct appointments. indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/talking-indo...

Talking Indonesia: regional elections

In this week's episode, Dr Jacqui Baker chats with Dr Ian Wilson to assess what the regional elections round up tells us about how power is being reorganised in Indonesia today.

indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au

As predicted, Prabowo has wasted no time in advocating for ending direct election of regional heads. Emphasis, here at least, placed on the 'financial burden' of elections in possible wedge of popular democracy vs his expensive populist programs, aka free lunch www.cna.id/indonesia/ak...

Akhir dari Pilkada? Prabowo lempar usul Kepala Daerah dipilih DPRD

DPR pernah menghapuskan Pilkada langsung pada tahun 2014 namun gagal setelah protes besar dari masyarakat.

cna.id

Today's announcement on nuclear is a distraction from Australia’s ongoing fossil fuel use and production. It comes just one day after the approval of a 50 year extension to Australia’s largest fossil gas export plant – Woodside’s North West Shelf facility.

Nuclear costings are a distraction

Today's announcement on nuclear is a distraction from Australia’s ongoing fossil fuel use and production.

australiainstitute.org.au

Prabowo's energetic approach to Indonesia's 'free active' foriegn policy may cause anxiety for Australian government & security elites yoked to US strategic interests and desire for hegemony in the region, even as the spectre of Trump unpredictability looms. Some coment for AJ. aje.io/yf0exl

Indonesia’s Prabowo steers strategic middle path amid China, US rivalry

Indonesian President Prabowo heralds new focus on foreign policy, but balancing Beijing and Washington will continue.

aje.io

History Indonesian I' by Slamet. Linocut print, 1994. Given to me by the artist in 1994 when he and other Indonesian left activists visited Perth, sponsored by Maritime Workers Union, for discussions on pro-East Timorese solidarity and the anti-Suharto struggle. Found it cleaning out an old locker.

Looking like a first round victory to PDIP-backed candidate Pramono Anung in Jakarta's governor elections, but with the lowest election participation rates on record at just over 50% down from 72%+ in 2017. Similar low turnouts elsewhere aroind the country

Out in Jakarta Bay. Over the past year, our research consortium has been working with communities in North Jakarta, Central Java, and Pari Island on the front line of the climate crisis, understanding its impacts on their lives, how they are adapting and the avenues for contesting damages and loss

Seemingly unable to 'lengser keprabon madeg pandito', Jokowi continues to play politics campaigning for govt-backed candidates in Jakarta & Central Java. The result likely to be interpreted, in part, as reflection of his political shelf-life. Some comment for SCMP. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

‘Jokowi still wants action’: Indonesia polls a test of ex-leader’s clout

The country’s former president is back in the political spotlight campaigning for candidates in regional elections.

scmp.com

Indonesia's regional elections will be its largest to date. Constitutional court rulings in August supported a diverse electoral landscape however cartel-like party coalitions and deal-making have operated to constrain the parameters of contestation. Some comment: www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-com...

2024/97 “More Competition, Less Opposition: Indonesia’s 2024 Regional Elections” by Ian Wilson

Indonesia’s regional elections scheduled for 27 November will be the largest in the nation’s history and the first to extend to all the country’s provinces, regencies and cities.

iseas.edu.sg

The Indonesian version of my politics of protection racket book has just been reprinted by MarjinKiri. Lots on the background of Indonesia's new president, and his network of gangs and gangsters. Hoping to make progress on new book on politics of coercion next year marjinkiri.id/product/poli...

Politik Jatah Preman: Ormas dan Kuasa Jalanan di Indonesia Pasca Orde Baru - Marjin Kiri

Didasarkan pada riset lapangan yang intens dan panjang, buku ini menyuguhkan analisis komprehensif mengenai hubungan yang berubah antara kelompok-kelompok preman dengan pihak berwenang dan kekuasaan p...

marjinkiri.id

go.bsky.app/VEkiiYW

Belum ketemu Prabowo/Jokowi, belum bisa dianggap calon pemenang, kata Bahlil.

antaranews.com (Unofficial)@antara-poster.bsky.social · 2y ago

Bahlil nilai pertemuan Pram-Rano dengan Anies tak ada yang istimewa  - https://www.antaranews.com/berita/4470633/bahlil-nilai-pertemuan-pram-rano-dengan-anies-tak-ada-yang-istimewa

Still looking for Southeast Asia watchers to add to my SEA Starter Pack! bsky.app/starter-pack...

Tom Pepinsky@tompepinsky.com · 2y ago

Could Starter Packs be used to reverse-engineer Bluesky communities that don't yet exist? 1. create an empty starter pack for, say, Southeast Asian Politics 2. invite people to express interest in that community by requesting to join 3. presto, a curated audience, incentivizing content creation

Academics trying to figure out how to link the latest global crisis to their most recent publication

So far so good, tetapi konten/diskusi politik Indonesia masih sepi di bluesky, sepertinya. Ada yg punya list atau starterpack? Trims