Australian Outlook

Jokowi's Indonesia

02 Nov 2016
By Dr Nicolaas Warouw
Jokowi. Photo Credit: Ahmad Syauki (Flickr) Creative Commons

With Indonesian President Joko Widodo due to address the Australian Parliament on Monday, it is an opportune time to reflect on his achievements as president and the state of domestic politics in Australia’s dynamic northern neighbour.

Since Jokowi’s election in 2014, Indonesians’ confidence in their government has solidified. The President’s proactive approach to reforming the bureaucracy has strongly contributed to this sentiment: no small task given the previous decades of authoritarian rule.

At the same time, religious pluralism continues to be respected across the country on a day-to-day basis, with tensions limited to elections. The military and police remain separate and distinct and instead of seeking positions high in government, military figures now seek (and are sought after) by civil society groups.

In this special podcast, Dr Nicolaas Warouw of UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy offers an in-depth view of Jokowi’s Indonesia in discussion with Tingting Luo of the AIIA’s National Office,

 

 

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