INDONESIA’S 2024 ELECTIONS

A Change in Direction

or More of the Same

June 13 8:30-10 am  EST

Some say that with 17 political parties, 9 large enough to be significant players in forming coalitions to choose candidates, politics in Indonesia is a 3 dimensional chess game.

Who will succeed Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s President, when he leaves office after 10 years and what will be their approach to the economy and the role of foreign companies.  We’ll examine national polling organizations, family and party dynamics, the role of “king makers”, parties vs. “success teams”, and the role of religion. You will come away from the program better equipped to handle the political process as it unfolds in the months ahead.

SPEAKERS

Achmad Sukarsono, Associate Director, Control; Risks

Achmad holds a Master of Arts degree in Global and Comparative Politics from Queen Mary University of London and a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree in International Relations from the University of Indonesia. ​​​​​​​Before joining the political risk industry, Achmad worked as a Southeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group, a global think-tank on conflict issues for three years and as a Jakarta-based journalist for international news organisations for a decade. Achmad’s comments on Indonesia and Malaysia have appeared on Bloomberg, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.

Kevin O’Rourke, Principal, Reformasi Information Services

Kevin holds a degree in government from Harvard University and he is the author of the book Reformasi: The Struggle for Power in Post-Soeharto Indonesia (Allen & Unwin, 2002). He worked in Jakarta starting in 1994. PT Reformasi Info Sastra (PT Ris) is an independent company conducting political risk analysis on Indonesia. Pro­ducts include the Reformasi Weekly Service, syndicated reports such as The 2019 Election Primer and specialized research for clients

William (Bill) Liddle is Professor (Emeritus) of Political Science at Ohio State University

Bill did seminal research in Indonesia in the mid 1960’s and has continued his work on Indonesia’s political system and elections ever since. His current research focuses on political leadership, voting behavior, and popular attitudes toward Islamic politics in Indonesia. He has won recent research grants from the National Science Foundation, Smith Richardson Foundation, and Korea Research Foundation.Selected recent publications include Voting Behavior in Indonesia since Democratization: Critical Democrats, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (with Saiful Mujani and Kuskridho Ambardi),2018

Amb. Ted Osius, President & CEO, US-ASEAN Business Council

A diplomat for thirty years, Ambassador Osius served from 2014 to 2017 as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam and served as Deputh Chief of Mission in Indonesia. After his departure from government, Osius joined Google Asia-Pacific as Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy, covering 19 Asian nations from Google’s Singapore headquarters.  Leading a team of 900, Ambassador Osius devised and implemented strategies to deepen economic, security and cultural ties between the two countries. In October 2021, Osius published his most recent book, Nothing Is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam, with a Foreword by former Secretary of State John Kerry, covering the two countries’ 25-year journey from adversaries to friends and partners.