Vol. IV / No. 4 | June 2023

Authors:
Adlini Ilma Ghaisany Sjah (Independent International Relations Scholar and Graduate of Master of International Relations, The University of Melbourne)

Summary
In March 2022, the International Studies Association, one of the oldest bodies for international relations research in the world, established a Global IR Section (GIRS). The project aims to advance International Relations theories outside of the West, thereby transforming the US-dominated discipline into a global one. To this end, some countries have embarked on projects of advancing local thought following the model of the English School, such as the Chinese School and Japanese International Relations.  While there is generally collective agreement about the need for a less Western-dominated IR, are national schools a fruitful endeavor? Is there opportunity for an Indonesian school of International Relations? The author argues that building an Indonesian School of International Relations could motivate commitment to local, theory-based research and is an important step for Global IR.

Keywords: global IR, indigenous theory-building, Indonesian school

Vol. IV / No. 3 | June 2023

Authors:
Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto (Lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Indonesia)

Summary
In comparison to nearby waters, the South China Sea (SCS) lacks coordinated patrols (corpat) among the Southeast Asian littoral states. Political and other challenges, especially maritime boundary and territorial disputes, have stymied past corpat initiatives. However, corpat is consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that encourages the littoral states of “an enclosed or semi-enclosed sea” as the SCS is, to “cooperate with each other” including “in the management, conservation, exploration and exploitation of the living resources of the sea.” Maritime security issues beyond boundary and territorial disputes have made corpat in the SCS a genuine and practical necessity for Southeast Asia. With external support, the corpat could initially focus on the southern part of the SCS, or between the 1^st and 10^th degree parallel north. If realised, the SCS corpat might become yet another sub-regional ‘minilateral’ answer to maritime security issues that the SCS now poses to littoral and non-littoral states alike.

Keywords:  coordinated patrols, South China Sea, Southeast Asia, maritime security, navies, coastguards

Vol. IV / No. 2 | March 2023

Authors:
Raneeta Mutiara (PhD Student at Graduate Studies Program, and Associate Faculty at School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS))

Summary
The direction of the multilateral Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) seems to shift after the subsidence of Covid-19 pandemic, particularly due to the deterioration in China-United States (US) relationship, Russia-Ukraine war and political turmoil in Myanmar. The three ongoing circumstances were among the highlights of the current ASEAN political landscape. It appears that the time has come for ASEAN to recalibrate its organisational priority, especially with regards to its geopolitical role among the big powers vis-à-vis the need to tighten security measures to protect the inviolable sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members. Nonetheless, while it is important for ASEAN to monitor the external dynamics to protect its stability, it is imperative that the existing internal complications are triaged and tackled in order to build a strong regional core insusceptible to most predicaments.

Keywords: ASEAN, Southeast Asia, regionalism, interregional cooperation, stability

Vol. IV No. 1 | March 2023

Authors:
Ahmad Hidayat (Associate at Department of International Relations, Universitas Indonesia. Policy and Diplomacy Specialist at Carbon Policy Lab, CarbonEthics Indonesia)

Summary

Carbon trading or emission trading system (ETS) has been a hot topic for climate change mitigation and adaptation in recent years; commencing within the Global North by European ETS in 2005, now moving forward to the Global South market and economies like Mexico ETS 2020, China ETS 2021, and Indonesia Energy-subsector ETS in 2023. After the Paris Agreement in 2015, the Global South changed its perspective in terms of becoming more susceptible to market mechanisms and lessening criticism/skepticism towards Global North’s intention to commercialize climate issues. It allows parties to formulate their action based on their needs and domestic capacity (Nationally Determined Contributions/NDC) to meet net zero. Green capitalism favors this approach, emphasizing on the market capacity to correct environmental externalities as firms will be keen to follow the high environmental standard while maintaining high productivity. However, Green Capitalism receives criticism from the socio-ecological justice perspective that underlines the uncontrollable nature of the capitalistic approach which tends to exploit the system’s weaknesses for profiting firms, and disregard the protection for marginalized minority, and non-human organism from exploitation. Regardless, the fast progression of global economic dynamism today  evokes people-environment-economy nexus relations and still needs further scrutinization for enhancement.

Keywords: Global South, Carbon Trading, Climate Change, Green Capitalism, Socio-Ecological Justice

Vol. III No. 1 | March 2022

Authors:
Chaula Rininta Anindya (PhD Student at the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Japan)

Summary

Foreign assistance has been an indispensable part of Indonesia’s counterterrorism efforts. In the aftermath of the 2002 Bali Bombings, Indonesia has been receiving foreign assistance to enhance its counterterrorism capabilities. The deadly attack in Bali sparked concerns over the fear of the growing terrorist networks in the country and the region. Almost two decades since the Bali Bombing, counterterrorism remains an unfinished problem in the country. Despite the significant contribution of foreign assistance in improving Indonesia’s counterterrorism capabilities, doubts remain over the actual implementation. This article aims to understand the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) as a proxy of the foreign agencies in implementing their programme. It will also attempt to understand the policies of the National Counter terrorism Agency (BNPT) in coordinating relevant P/CVE agencies in Indonesia.

Keywords: Foreign Assistance, Developmental, Civil Society Organizations, Counterterrorism, Terrorism

Vol. II / No. 5 | April 2021

Authors:
Aji Fajri (Master student, Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po)

Summary

A few weeks ago, Indonesia and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have signed an agreement to establish the IEA Indonesia Energy Transition Alliance. The Alliance will be the platform for both parties to enhance collaboration in developing energy policy, mobilizing high-level political engagement, and accelerating the energy transition. But regardless of its technocratic measures, there is a more important political mission underlying the establishment of The Alliance, which is Indonesia’s aspiring leadership in global energy governance. As stated in the IEA’s press release, the Alliance will allow the IEA and Indonesia to build new partnerships and workstreams to support Indonesia’s international energy leadership (IEA, 2021). Can Indonesia be successful in carrying out this mission? The normative answer is that only the time will tell, but Indonesia certainly has the potential to be so. Ensuring that it has political and economic influence will be crucial should Indonesia aspires to a leadership role in the global energy governance.

Keywords: The Alliance, leadership, Indonesia, the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy transition, political and economic influence