The reported detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her political allies in the aftermath of the elections in November 2020 is a definite step backward in Myanmar’s already difficult democratic consolidation in recent years. The military take over and its imposition of a state of emergency for one year has no credible legal, political and moral basis and indeed creates yet another bad precedent for Myanmar’s nation-building process.
Continue reading
The Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia, the largest foreign policy group in Indonesia with more than 100,000 people in its network, is pleased to welcome Professor dr. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Yongky Susilo, and Jamil Maidan Flores as the organization’s Senior Associates.
Continue reading
2020 might be one of the most challenging years in decades. As the world was not only struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the rising bigotry, hate speech, and extremism. From suicide bombing in Quetta, Pakistan, the burning of Qur’an by far-right activists in Sweden, the Islamist terrorist stabbings in Nice, France to the recent mass shooting in Vienna, Austria, and another mass killing in the village of Koshebe, Nigeria, we have not seen any progress in the fight against hate speech, bigotry, terrorism, and extremism. In spite of that, international collective efforts have also been conducted by various actors and institutions in hope for a better future of inter-religious harmony. This year, another chance at improving what we have left last year will proceed.
Continue reading
It is not only students and the youth that are struggling to adjust to work-from-home or online classes and practically everything-virtual. World leaders, too, have to work remotely. Gone are the days of hand-shaking and shoulder pads, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended what are conventionally known practices of diplomacy: bilateral meetings, international summits, in-person negotiations — all of these things are now held online in accordance with public health safety guidelines.
Continue reading
In collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Indonesia, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) has the pleasure to once again conduct the #FPCIAmbassadorialLecture series with H.E. Vincent Piket throughout 2021. Ambassadorial Lecture Series aims to discuss various aspects of the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the European Union, especially during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue reading
The recent controversy over the visit of a German Embassy staffer to the headquarters of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) shows what happens when a diplomatic event has a brush with domestic politics. Here is what we know. On Dec. 17, 2020, an employee of the German Embassy visited the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta. Her entry into the compound and the car she arrived in, which bore a diplomatic license plate, was photographed, most likely by an intelligence officer assigned to watch the goings-on at the compound. Two days later, FPI secretary-general Munarman confirmed her visit to the media and the incident went viral. Reports began to surface that the woman in question was a member of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
Continue reading
The year 2020 marked an all-time low for the so-called leader of the free world. Extenuating domestic situation due to poor management of the pandemic coupled with social unrest has earned America the title of “the sick man of democracies,” so lamented by American professor John Delury.
Continue reading
2020 was the year no one could have imagined or predicted in 2019. The COVID-19 has indeed disrupted, influenced and even altered many aspects of human lives. Nevertheless we belive 2021 is going to be a better year. What can we learn from 2020? How should Indonesia prepare for in 2021?
Continue reading
Following the contraction at -5.32% in the second and -3.49% in the third quarter of 2020, Indonesia’s economy has fallen into recession. Nevertheless, World Bank and IMF came with positive news as they predicted Indonesian economy to expand between 4.8% – 6.1% next year. The arrival of vaccine in Indonesia also increases public confidence that Indonesia’s economy will soon recover. However, economic rebound still depends on various factors, including politics. What would Indonesian economic and political landscape looks like next year? When will our economic activities return to normalcy? What kind of policy breakthroughs are needed to spur reforms and transformations for a resilient recovery?
Continue reading
As if COVID-19 and the economic recession were not enough, the world today has to bear with a wrangle between France and the Islamic world, sparked by controversy over President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statements about Islam. Macron made his comments after the gruesome beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad to his students as part of a class discussion.
Continue reading
