Indonesia
Covid-19 and Indonesian monetary policy
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, it had become routine for central banks in rich countries to help fund budget deficits by buying government bonds. “Quantitative easing” (QE)…
Indonesia – a country of disappointments
Ben Bland paints an insightful and intriguing portrait of Indonesia's leader in his new book, Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the struggle to remake Indonesia. Jokowi, as…
Podcasts
COVIDcast: Ben Bland On Indonesian President Joko Widodo, A Man Of Contradictions
In this episode of COVIDcast, Hervé Lemahieu, Director of the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program at the Lowy Institute, sat down with Ben Bland to discuss his new book.
The (un)making of Joko Widodo
Book Review: Ben Bland, Man of Contradictions: Joko Widodo and the struggle to remake Indonesia (Penguin, Lowy Institute, 2020)
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, a man once…
Jakarta should be wary of Beijing’s South China Sea proposals
Jakarta has long made clear its position as a non-claimant state on the South China Sea, stating its principal interest in the dispute is to maintain peace and security in the…
Where next for MIKTA?
After seven years, the informal middle power partnership bringing together Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA), has achieved less than optimists…
Commentary
Indonesia's Economy Needs More Than A Reboot from Jokowi
Originally published in Bloomberg.
Book Review: The deadly legacy of the Cold War in the modern world
Book review: Vincent Bevins, The Jakarta Method: Washington’s anti-communist crusade and the mass murder program that shaped our world (Hachette, 2020)
The world is awash with…
Submissions
Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into the Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Australia's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Joint submission by Lowy Institute researchers to the JSCFADT inquiry into the implications of the pandemic.
Reports
Brookings Report: Historical tensions and contemporary governance challenges in Southeast Asia: The case of Indonesia
In this report published by the Brookings Institution, Ben Bland explains why Western nations need to engage with Indonesia in its own right, not as a part of plan to…