Depok – January 8 2024. In February this year, Indonesia will have presidential and legislative elections. The General Election Commission (KPU) notes that 204,807,222 or 56,45% of young voters, ranging from millennials to Gen Z, are on the voter’s lists. Many of the Gen-Z voters will also vote for the first time. Considering that the future of Indonesian democracy lies with the younger generation, the younger generation needs more space in Indonesia’s democratic process. To support this democratic process, the Department of International Relations, Universitas Indonesia, held a talk show on ‘Youth Talk! The Future of Indonesia’s Defense, Security, and International Relations’ by inviting young spokespersons from the campaign teams of each presidential candidate.
The spokesperson for Presidential Candidate Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar, Muhammad Kholid, highlighted the vision of his candidate to restate The President’s role as commander of diplomacy in various international forums and rebased Indonesia’s foreign policy using guiding values. Meanwhile, Prabowo Subianto–Gibran Rakabuming’s spokesperson, Hamdan Hamedan- stated the vision is to strengthen good relations with friendly countries and maintain national sovereignty and resilience through enhancing defense and security. On the other hand, Christian Guntur Lebang, spokesperson of Presidential Candidate Ganjar Pranowo–Mahfud MD, explained Indonesia’s orientation in various global dynamics, including the redefinition of free and independent foreign policy principle, suited to the current geopolitical situation and the strengthening of Indonesia’s defense capacity in cybersecurity.
Three student representatives were asked to respond to the spokesperson’s statements during the discussion. Stephanie Lidya Nashirah Suprapto (S1 Student in International Relations, University of Indonesia), Rachel Kumendong (S2 Student in International Relations, University of Indonesia), and I Gusti Agung Rama Raditya (Coordinator for Social and Political Affairs, BEM FISIP UI), discussed variety of issues including genocide in Palestine, South China Sea, counter-terrorism policies, the decline of democracy index vis a vis public trust, human rights violations, and the performance of diplomatic entourage.
The dialogue session, moderated by Nida Rubini (Managing Global Editor: Journal of International Politics), was joined by three hundred students and young academics from different universities in Jakarta metropolitan areas. The discussions portray how younger generations, having been exposed to open information and tech-savvy, are critical to many political issues, even those traditionally labeled high political issues. The audience also brought up the importance of a broader spectrum of topics that intersect with the lives of society and youth, ranging from non-traditional security of environmental degradation and climate change to job provision and unemployment and diplomatic strategies that differ from old methods, which need to be accommodated to a greater extent by presidential candidates.