Two Years In
Two years into his 5 year term President Jokowi is exhibiting some of the qualities of former President Suharto. I say this not to compare them in any fundamental way […]
Cabinet Rebalance 2.0- The Avoidance of Conflict
Commentary by Wayne Forrest The avoidance of conflict and embarrassment can be a strong dynamic in Javanese culture. In the world of the shadow puppets (wayang), a balanced, steady state […]
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, […]
Backing Away From the Dollar
We are starting to see the glimmer of a new strategy for how Indonesia wants to do business and it may have less to with the US dollar. Foreign exchange […]