Senior Fellow and Coordinator, Indonesia Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

Bebas Aktif Revisionism or Continuation? Indonesian Foreign Policy under Prabowo Subianto

Indonesia, the fourth largest country in the world and Southeast Asia’s largest nation, had its latest presidential transition on October 20^th, 2024. Prabowo Subianto, as Indonesia’s new leader, is known for his nationalistic outlook and his desire to transform Indonesia into a new emerging ‘great nation’, both in economic and security terms. Examination and analysis will concentrate on Prabowo’s vision for Indonesia, his ideas for its foreign policy, and what set of policies he will likely pursue to fulfil his ambition to transform Indonesia as a great nation. Domestic political variables that will either help or hinder Prabowo’s ability to enact and implement these policies will also be considered.

Biography

Alexander R. Arifianto is Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Indonesia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Dr Arifianto earned a PhD in political science from Arizona State University in 2012. He has worked for RSIS since July 2015. Previously, he was a Visiting Fellow with ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Dr Arifianto’s research interests are contemporary Indonesian politics, political Islam, and Indonesian foreign policy. His articles have appeared in refereed journals such as Asia Policy, Religion, State, and Society, Trans-National and Regional Studies of Southeast Asia (TRaNS), Asian Security, Asian Politics and Policy, and Journal of Southeast Asian Economies (formerly ASEAN Economic Bulletin).