Changing Ambassadors
President Obama has nominated Joseph R. Donovan Jr. to be America’s next Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia. Hon. Robert Blake served his last full day as ambassador on Monday, July […]
A Strong Appointment
Golkar Returns
For those familiar with Indonesian politics Golkar is the party synonymous with Indonesia’s economic development. More than a just a political party, Golkar was an amalgamation of various “functional groups” […]
Nurhadi and the Rule of Law
Just as the Masela Block decision (main topic of last month’s commentary that described a sudden reversal of a decision to build an LNG facility on rather than offshore) spoke […]
The Meaning of Masela
The forward progress of the Jokowi government may have hit a speed bump with its decision to go against the proposal of both the field operators Shell and Inpex, the […]
Duane Gingerich’s Pivot: In Memoriam (1942-2016)
As President Obama prepares to receive most of Southeast Asia’s heads of state at the US-ASEAN Summit February 15-16 in Rancho Mirage I am thinking of a recently fallen friend […]
President Jokowi in DC
President Jokowi’s visit to the US October 26 and 27, although shortened by the forest fire issue, included a longer than expected bilateral with President Obama, progress on security relations, […]
New Deregulation Package
Indonesia has released the second of three deregulation/stimulus packages designed to boost a flagging economy and strengthen the exchange rate. The first (released September 10) was primarily an exercise in […]
The Meaning of Banggai
August 7, 2015 President Jokowi traveled to the Banggai Regency in central Sulawesi this week to inaugurate the $5.8 billion “Pertamina Mega Integrated Project”, which is planned to match the […]
Idul Fitri Reshuffle
June 30, 2105 The serious Cabinet reshuffle rumors began in June: in Indonesia, they are part of the air one breaths. An underwhelming economic performance would prompt President Jokowi to […]