Exploring the politics of policy, and policy in politics, during the 2019 elections.
New Mandala’s most read in 2018
Revisit the 20 most popular articles published at New Mandala this year.
Habib Bahar’s fifteen minutes of infamy
An eccentric—and violent—Islamic preacher has been catapulted to fame in Indonesia after becoming a target of the authorities.
Indonesia at the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
A despatch from Brisbane, where an eclectic selection of Indonesian works stands out at the APT.
Notes on 212 in 2018: more politics, less unity
The second reunion of the 2016 anti-Ahok rally was a show of force from FPI ahead of elections.
Playing the marriage card in Indonesia
A proposal for marriage registration cards is an invitation for more moral surveillance of Indonesian citizens.
Watch the 2018 ANU Indonesia Update
Expert speakers discuss the state of Indonesia's politics and economy in 2018, with the focus on the status of minorities.
Film review: ‘Asimetris’
A provocative documentary examines the asymmetries of Indonesia’s oil palm boom, but leaves some difficult questions unaddressed.
Jokowi’s authoritarian turn
Once hailed as the saviour of the democratic status quo, Indonesia’s president is now busily degrading democratic norms.
Ma’ruf Amin and the inclusion–moderation thesis
Would high political office discipline Ma’ruf Amin’s conservatism, or would his conservatism influence government policy?
Colonial medicine in postcolonial times: continuity, transition and change
Notes on the first joint meeting of the Asian Society for the History of Medicine & History of Medicine in Southeast Asia, Jakarta, 27-30 June 2018
Breaking the Colonial Hypnosis: Radical Physicians and Medical Nationalism in the Dutch East Indies
Hans Pols proposes a new perspective on the history of colonial medicine from the viewpoint of indigenous physicians.
VIDEO: ANU Indonesia Political & Economic Update 2018
Livestream the annual in-depth updates on Indonesia's politics and economy.
Taking parliament to the people in Indonesia
Aid-supported 'participatory recess' programs are promoting healthier communication between MPs and constituents. But it won't transform politics unless parties sign on wholesale.
Ma’ruf Amin: Jokowi’s Islamic defender or deadweight?
Progressives may hope that Ma’ruf’s conservatism will be checked by realpolitik.
The fault lines between rich and poor in Lombok quake
Notes from a research trip interrupted by Indonesia’s most deadly earthquake in years.
Nahdlatul Ulama is home to its own hardliners
The NU Garis Lurus or 'true path NU' movement shows how the moderate stance of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation is being internally contested.
Apply now to be a New Mandala Indonesia Correspondent Fellow
New Mandala is looking for emerging Indonesian experts to write about Indonesia's biggest policy challenges in the lead up to the 2019 polls.
Wielding the purse strings of Southeast Asian civil society
Illiberalism at home, and pro-market ideologies abroad, are putting pressure on Southeast Asian civil society organisations' financial health.
Nahdlatul Ulama and the politics trap
A pillar of Indonesian civil society faces an ever more acute dilemma between representing a religious community and securing resources and influence within government.
Writing history in the Indian Ocean world
Writing history in the Indian Ocean world was the result of a complex interplay of global norms and local conditions of textual production.