Event: Indonesia and Islamic State - Sidney Jones

Few countries around the world have been untouched by the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and Indonesia is no exception. Extremists groups in Indonesia have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and a small but significant number of Indonesians have joined the ranks of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq.

On 10 March, the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with one of the world’s leading experts on Islamist and extremist groups in Indonesia, Sidney Jones. From 2002 to 2013, Sidney worked with the International Crisis Group, first as Southeast Asia project director, then from 2007 as senior adviser to the Asia program. Before joining Crisis Group, she worked for the Ford Foundation in Jakarta and New York (1977-84); Amnesty International in London as the Indonesia-Philippines-Pacific researcher (1985-88); and Human Rights Watch in New York as the Asia director (1989-2002).  She holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sidney was joined in conversation by Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo.