Police officers stand in formation during roll call on May 9, 2025, in preparation for a two-week operation until May 23 to curb thuggery and street brawls across Jakarta.

Tax incentives fall flat when thuggery rules on the ground

The government must first tackle the mafia-style organizations polluting the streets in industrial zones, or else it is just pouring trillions in tax incentives into the gutter.

1 day ago

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Tourist safety should be the highest priority, even in peacetime

Governments across the world are failing to provide security and safety to tourists, despite the recovery of tourism earnings since COVID-19, in some cases even surpassing pre-pandemic levels. ...

1 day ago

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Carbon pricing is advancing despite Trump

Carbon pricing and other mechanisms like the CBAM have the potential to unleash a decarbonization wave across global industries, regardless of the current US stance. ...

1 day ago

The Latest

Attendants await visitors on July 16, 2024, next to a thermal nuclear reactor model during the 26th China Beijing International High-Tech Exhibition at the National Convention Center in Beijing.

Academia

Borrowed standards, buried sovereignty: Indonesia’s nuclear dilemma

When it comes to nuclear development, Indonesia must dig deep to ask the tough questions to expose the underlying geopolitical currents and whether what we're being offered will truly lead to energy sovereignty, or if we're being cast as the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

1 day ago

Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao inspects an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Malaysian prime minister office in Putrajaya on Dec. 2, 2024.

Academia premium

What Indonesia owes Timor-Leste

The memory of the independence struggle is still fresh in Timor-Leste and despite the bitterness of our shared history, perhaps it is time to bury the hatchet and for Indonesia to extend a hand of reconciliation, assistance and recognition to its future ASEAN neighbor.

1 day ago

Health workers administer a chest X-ray to a toddler on Feb. 22, 2025 at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, under a free TB screening program provided by the city’s health agency.

Academia premium

Innovation and industrial transformation for health improvement in Indonesia

Unprecedented scientific and technological advances have resulted in important industrial transformations, including within the healthcare industry.

3 days ago

Students return empty trays after finishing their lunch on Feb. 18, 2025, provided via the government’s free nutritious meal program, at SDN Banjarsari 5 state elementary school in Serang, Banten.

Academia premium

Indonesia’s economic growth: Between optimism and reality

While there are reasons for some optimism, the country needs to do more in terms of reforms and inclusivity to not just drive the domestic economy, but also to become the region’s leader in sustainable development.

3 days ago

Congolese refugees gather for a possible chance to receive aid during a food distribution operation on May 7 at the Musenyi refugee site in Giharo. Since January 2025, more than 71,000 people fleeing ongoing violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo have crossed into Burundi, its largest refugee influx in decades, the United Nations says.

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Mutually assured development destruction

If wealthier countries refuse to provide for the global common good, the multilateral system as we know it will not survive.

3 days ago

Members of Yogyakarta’s Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet) theater group, Sanggar Widya Pramana, sing and play gamelan instruments on Feb. 9 during a performance of the Hindu heroic tale, Ramayana at The Local Market, organized by non-profit Kuka Indonesia which supports education for underprivileged communities, in Jakarta.

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Beyond the algorithm: Rescuing Indonesia’s soundscapes from digital extinction

When a gamelan gong is streamed on Spotify, its resonance reaches the world, but its soul stays trapped in a digital plantation, harvested for clicks while its guardians starve.

3 days ago

Female soldiers stand at attention on Aug. 31, 2018, as they prepare to deploy as part of the Indonesian contingent on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lebanon.

Academia premium

Rethinking Indonesia’s commitment to UN Women's agenda

The current administration has signaled very little as regards the greater representation of women as part of Indonesia's foreign policy agenda, more specifically the processes of diplomacy, peacebuilding and decision-making in the security sector.

3 days ago

High-ranking Indonesian Military (TNI) officers salute during the force's leadership meeting at the TNI headquarters in Jakarta on Jan. 31.

Academia premium

A call for military reformation and preservation of public safety

Over the years, there has been a growing trend of internal military politics influencing the selection and rotation of high-ranking officers.

4 days ago

A flare goes up in air over the hill near main town of Poonch district, on May 7. India said on May 7 it carried out “precision strikes at terrorist camps“ inside Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, days after it blamed Islamabad for a deadly attack on the Indian side of the contested region.

Academia premium

Waging peace amid perpetual conflicts

Diplomacy and dialogue are unfortunately incorrectly perceived as signs of weakness and lack of resolve.

4 days ago

A worker uses a container lift truck on Sept. 17, 2024, at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta.

Academia premium

Indonesia's supply chain position amid tariff turmoil

The world is in need of new locations for production and distribution, and Indonesia has great potential.

4 days ago

This aerial file picture taken on January 25, 2011, show islands and reefs in Wakatobi archipelago, a thriving marine paradise in Southeast Sulawesi packing a bewildering abundance of life in the Coral Triangle, a region of rich tropical reefs spanning much of Southeast Asia and almost all of Indonesia.

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We are the ocean: High stakes for the blue planet

More than ever before, we must make sure that multilateral action is equal to the challenges of protecting the ocean.

4 days ago

People rescue Rohingya refugees from a boat after a week anchored ashore off the coast of Labuhan Haji in southern Aceh on Oct. 24, 2024.

Academia

ASEAN and the Andaman Sea Crisis: Lessons still unlearned

Ten years on, little has changed. ASEAN still lacks a regional asylum framework or coherent protection mechanism.

4 days ago

Activists hold umbrellas and posters that read “No country without its people. Listen to our voice!“ during the 856th Kamisan rally in front of the State Palace in Jakarta on March 20.

Academia premium

What civil society must do now to defend Indonesia’s future

Alarming signals indicate a disaster for our democracy is unfolding fast. Civil society must take action lest the worst premonitions become reality.

4 days ago

President Prabowo Subianto (third left) prepares to take a group photo with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (fifth right), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (center), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (fifth left) and other leaders during the D8 summit in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 19, 2024.

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Iran, Indonesia strengthen bonds amid challenges

In the face of such oppression, Muslim nations are called upon to rise in solidarity and action.

5 days ago

Jobseekers line up on May 14, 2024, to file their employment applications during a job fair in Pandeglang, Banten.

Academia premium

Hidden job crisis behind the falling unemployment rate

A rising wave of layoffs and the persistent expansion of informal and precarious jobs suggest that headline figures alone are no longer sufficient to understand the state of labor market.

5 days ago

The nickel smelter of PT Vale Indonesia in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, is pictured on Aug. 2, 2024.

Academia

Will nickel be Indonesia’s trump card?

Trade talks will mean balancing the US need for critical minerals and the Indonesian desire to develop its domestic processing.

5 days ago

Air Force personnel stand guard near three Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets arriving from Sultan Hasanuddin airbase in Makassar at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands on Oct. 30, 2018.

Academia

Reevaluating Indonesia’s air defense concept: A lesson from India-Pakistan conflict

The procurement of advanced fighters will only carry strategic value if the country is able to deploy them freely and effectively in its critical air zones.

5 days ago

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard on May 13, 2025 at a marketplace in Srinagar, a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.

Academia

Norms have changed in South Asia, future deescalation is much harder

Tensions in South Asia have been taken down a notch with news of a ceasefire but the conditions for future escalations remain, and mechanisms for peace appear to have been diminished.

5 days ago

A local fisherman examines his catch on July 30, 2023 in the Indian Ocean near Lhok Paroy district in Aceh Besar regency, Aceh. Students at the School of Maritime and Fisheries at Syah Kuala University recommended the use of fish traps to improve fish quality and maintain industry sustainability.

Academia

Centering women, youth and indigenous peoples for ocean justice

The local wisdom of sustainable fishing practices shows that real ocean solutions come from those often excluded from decision-making.

5 days ago

Visitors line up to take the escalator at Plaza Blok M on Feb. 1. Consumption remains the main driver of Indonesia's economic growth.

Academia premium

Indonesian banking credit prospects amid economic slowdown

Weak purchasing power, a declining middle class, widespread layoffs and falling consumer expectations have led to a decrease in the demand for goods.

5 days ago

Visitors walk past skulls made from resin and grave markers recreated for an art installation in Jakarta on May 21, 2024 to commemorate 26 years of “reform struggle“ since the May 1998 Indonesia riots, in which hundreds of protesters were killed or disappeared in unrest that brought an end to the rule of former president Soeharto.

Academia premium

The May 1998 riots: Justice delayed is justice denied

The state’s persistent inaction on the Trisakti shooting and the riots of May 1998 has fostered public perceptions of impunity and abandonment.

6 days ago

People lay flowers at the eternal flame in front of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also known as the Victory Museum, at Poklonnaya Hill in western Moscow on May 8, 2025.

Academia premium

Letter to the editor: Russian ambassador responds

The Russian ambassador has responded to the views of a Ukrainian diplomat, published in an op-ed piece on May 9, on the Soviet Union's collective World War II victory and Russia’s current actions in Ukraine.

6 days ago

An illustration of artificial intelligence activities.

Academia

In pursuit of virtue: When machines make human decisions

Can machine-made decisions truly reflect the values we hold dear?

6 days ago

People visit the booth of Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD during the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) in Surabaya, East Java, on May 29, 2024.

Academia premium

Charting a constructive path for Indonesia-China ties

As Indonesia navigates global uncertainty, pragmatic and principled engagement with China can help strengthen its future without sacrificing autonomy.

6 days ago

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (right) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer arrive to deliver a news conference in Geneva on May 12, providing details of “substantial progress“ following a two-day closed-door meeting between US and China which, according to top officials, was aimed at ending a devastating tariff war.

Academia

US-China trade deal is no cause for celebration

The Geneva tariff deal may offer short-term relief, but it should not be misread as tariffs remain high and strategic rivalry continues.

6 days ago

Pope Leo XIV leads the Regina Caeli prayer on May 11, 2025, from the central balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Academia premium

Why an American Pope?

Though inherently a religious process guided by a divine hand and absent of political interventions, the election of a new pope reflects the state of the world, as history has shown.

6 days ago