Indonesia is undergoing a profound and strategic recalibration in its approach to global diplomacy and geopolitics. For decades, ASEAN centrality has been the cornerstone of Indonesia’s foreign policy. Today, that focus is being rebalanced toward a more assertive and ambitious leadership role within the Global South.
This shift does not signal a retreat from ASEAN, but rather a deliberate diversification of diplomatic strategy aimed at advancing Indonesia’s national interests in an increasingly multipolar, competitive, and unpredictable world. It marks a calculated transition from Indonesia’s traditional role as a “regional leader” to a more confident and proactive global actor.
For Indonesia, this adjustment is not optional; it is necessary. The “ASEAN Way,” grounded in consensus and non-interference, has long been a double-edged sword. While it has preserved internal harmony, it has also constrained ASEAN’s ability to respond decisively to crises, effectively limiting Indonesia’s leadership potential. The failure to implement the Five-Point Consensus in addressing Myanmar’s political crisis since 2021 stands as the clearest example. Similarly, ASEAN’s persistent difficulty in forging a unified position on the South China Sea highlights how these norms often undermine collective action when firmness and clarity are required.
In terms of scale, ASEAN’s global influence remains inherently limited. With a combined population of around 680 million and a total GDP of approximately US$3–4 trillion, ASEAN lacks the bargaining power of larger global platforms such as BRICS. An exclusive focus on ASEAN narrows Indonesia’s ability to shape debates on global governance issues that directly affect its long-term interests. The Global South, by contrast, offers a broader arena to project influence on critical issues such as reforming the global financial architecture and advancing a just energy transition—areas where Indonesia’s demographic weight and economic potential translate into far greater leverage.
ASEAN’s leadership effectiveness is further weakened by internal disputes that erode its credibility. The renewed border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia during Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2025 illustrate this problem vividly. Despite mediation efforts and the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord, the stalemate persisted. Thailand’s preference for bilateral negotiations and Cambodia’s push for internationalization exposed the limitations of regional mediation under the ASEAN Way, limiting the effectiveness of collective mechanisms. Taken together, these constraints have forced Jakarta to reassess its strategic calculus. Remaining a “big fish in a small pond,” with diminishing marginal impact, no longer aligns with Indonesia’s aspiration to emerge as a global middle power. Elevating its diplomatic engagement to the global level has therefore become both logical and unavoidable.
The rise of the Global South offers Indonesia a strategic space defined by scale, opportunity, and institutional reach that ASEAN alone cannot provide. This momentum aligns closely with Indonesia’s current ambitions—not merely to preserve regional stability, but to exert tangible global influence. The turn toward the Global South is not rhetorical; it is grounded in pragmatic economic and geopolitical considerations. Collectively, the Global South—particularly through BRICS—represents immense economic potential, encompassing more than four billion people and accounting for roughly 40–41 percent of global GDP in purchasing power parity terms. Indonesia’s trade with BRICS countries reached around US$150 billion in 2024, even before its full membership. This growth trajectory is critical to supporting President Prabowo’s ambitious 8 percent economic growth target.
A key strategic benefit of this orientation is access to alternative financing institutions such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). These mechanisms are not merely substitutes, but tools to reduce dependence on the Bretton Woods system, granting Indonesia greater policy flexibility and strategic autonomy. Such access is particularly relevant for funding national priority projects, including the development of Nusantara as the new capital city, free nutritious meal programs, people’s schools, food estate initiatives, and large-scale energy transition projects.
The contemporary resurgence of the Global South echoes the spirit of the 1955 Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement championed by Sukarno. Yet the differences are fundamental. Where Sukarno’s approach was deeply ideological and anti-colonial, today’s strategy is markedly pragmatic and economically driven. This is a modern form of “active non-alignment,” in which Indonesia seeks concrete gains from a multipolar order without becoming a proxy for any major power. In this context, the shift toward the Global South is underpinned by clear calculations, with BRICS membership serving as its primary institutional vehicle.
Crucially, Indonesia’s engagement with the Global South does not imply a rupture with the West. Instead, it reflects a confident, layered strategy of multi-alignment. Indonesia continues to play an active, articulate, and agenda-setting role in elite Western forums such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, while simultaneously deepening its involvement in Global South initiatives like BRICS. Its participation in the Board of Peace, an initiative associated with former US President Donald Trump, further underscores Jakarta’s openness to Western-led platforms when they serve national interests—even amid domestic criticism and debate. This posture signals diplomatic maturity: Indonesia refuses to be trapped in a binary choice between the West and the Global South, positioning itself instead as a credible bridge-builder and power broker capable of engaging all centres of power without sacrificing strategic autonomy.
Taken together, Indonesia’s evolving diplomatic strategy reflects a new phase of geopolitical maturity—defined by clarity of purpose, calculated boldness, and flexible execution. No longer confined by a narrow and often ineffective regional framework, Indonesia is consciously expanding its strategic horizon through a pragmatic multi-alignment approach. By leveraging Global South platforms such as BRICS to enhance economic leverage and strategic autonomy, while remaining active and credible in Western forums and peace initiatives, Indonesia is consolidating its identity as an adaptive and relevant global middle power. This is not ambiguity, but strategy: in a multipolar world, influence is no longer measured by bloc loyalty, but by the ability to shape outcomes while retaining full sovereignty over one’s choices.
Akhmad Hanan is an independent Indonesian researcher specialising in geopolitics and energy. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Oceanography from Universitas Diponegoro (UNDIP) and a Master’s in Energy Security from Universitas Pertahanan (UNHAN) – the Indonesian Defence University.
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