Alexander R Arifianto

Mar 4, 2024 | indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au | Alexander R Arifianto

Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka won the 2024 presidential election held on 14 February 2024 in a landslide. While serious concerns have been raised about the possibility of vote buying and a lack of neutrality from national and local-level state officials, it is expected they will be inaugurated as Indonesia’s new president and vice president on 20 October 2023.

Feb 19, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Michael Rose |Gaurab Shumsher Thapa |Alexander R Arifianto |Shankaran Nambiar

In 2024, as Timor-Leste prepares to mark 25 years since its vote for freedom from Indonesia both its many achievements and potentially existential risks are both plain to see. 2023 was an El Nino year, and word around Dili was that might mean drought. The anxiety had been hard to perceive from abroad — with news feeds focused more on ASEAN and the election — but in Dili it was the weather that had people worried.

Feb 17, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Alexander R Arifianto |Shankaran Nambiar |Aristyo Rizka Darmawan |Liam Gammon

After nearly four years of preparation and four long months of intense campaigning, the Indonesian presidential election finally took place on 14 February 2024. It resulted in a landslide victory for President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s favoured candidate, Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s defence minister and a former army general who served under the country’s late dictator, Suharto.

Jan 21, 2024 | newmandala.org | Alexander R Arifianto |Aisah Putri Budiatri |Jacqui Baker |Trissia Wijaya

In Indonesia’s 2019 presidential election, the flow of support from Islamic groups to the two presidential tickets was distinctly polarised. Conservatives rallied behind Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno, whereas Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)—the country’s biggest Islamic organisation, which claims to represent up to 90 million Muslims—unequivocally endorsed Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Ma’ruf Amin.

Nov 19, 2023 | indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au | Alexander R Arifianto

Foreign policy is a topic that rarely dominates election campaigns – Indonesia is no exception. Nonetheless, the implications for the international community are very important. Indonesia has long been known for what it calls its ‘free and active’ (bebas aktif) foreign policy. It says it maintains ‘freedom’ through a policy of nonalignment with any great power, yet takes an ‘active’ role in humanitarian crises or conflicts as part of its mission to “promote a peaceful and just global order”.