In the wake of the Asian financial crisis Indonesia was faced by a political transition, when president Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 after an authoritarian rule of more than thirty...Show moreIn the wake of the Asian financial crisis Indonesia was faced by a political transition, when president Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998 after an authoritarian rule of more than thirty years. This event was of tremendous historical significance as it marked the beginning of a democratization process, leading to general elections in 2001 and the first presidential elections in Indonesian history three years later. The thesis focusses on the foreign policy of Indonesia in the post-Suharto period. More specifically an answer is given to the following research question: to what extent do democratic values shape Indonesian foreign policy? In order to answer this question the thesis uses the policy towards Myanmar during the presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a case study. As the theoretical framework used for this thesis, the value-action framework, argues that the content of foreign policy depends on the actors involved, the investigation is split into three parts. In the first part, the policy during the Megawati presidency on the bilateral level, within ASEAN and the UN is investigated. This process is repeated for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidential terms in the second and third part.Show less
