The world’s biggest nickel producer and owner of the largest nickel reserve, Indonesia, has banned the export of its nickel ore two years ahead of schedule in 2020. This action prompted the...Show moreThe world’s biggest nickel producer and owner of the largest nickel reserve, Indonesia, has banned the export of its nickel ore two years ahead of schedule in 2020. This action prompted the European Union to file a complaint at the World Trade Organization in November 2019. Two years later, the Panel has ruled in favor of the European Union. Specifically, Indonesia’s export prohibition and domestic processing requirement on nickel ore were deemed inconsistent with the prohibition of export prohibitions and restrictions under the purview of Article XI:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Instead of backing down, Indonesia has now appealed the Panel Report to the Appellate Body. This thesis draws from International Compliance Theory and combines the management approach and enforcement approach. Through descriptive qualitative analysis utilizing primary and secondary resources, it aims to investigate the reasons behind Indonesia's non-compliance. Indonesia’s appeal and persistent downstreaming efforts are deeply rooted in its ambition to reach high-income status by 2045, thus shedding light on the political-economic significance of the nickel sector. Lack of clarity on exemptions regarding export restrictions and inactive Appellate Body further provides an opportunity to prolong non-compliance with WTO Ruling.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This research focuses on the analysis of the forms of human-environment relationship that characterize different communities in the coastal area of North Jakarta, and on how these might be...Show moreThis research focuses on the analysis of the forms of human-environment relationship that characterize different communities in the coastal area of North Jakarta, and on how these might be connected to inequalities between local communities. In North Jakarta, relationship with the environment is strongly affected by the presence of environmental issues, namely sea level rise, land subsidence, and chronic floods, which force local communities to come to terms with the surrounding waters on a daily basis, developing different experiences and perceptions of the environment. Moreover, such different experiences and perceptions are connected to political struggles related to the protection of the Jakarta bay ecosystem, the livelihood of fishing communities, and mitigation projects such as the construction of a giant seawall and of reclaimed islands off the coast of the city. The research population includes residents of four different neighbouring districts located along the coast of the Indonesian capital. Despite being so close to each other, these are very different areas, home to fish markets, fishing settlements and industries, luxurious residential areas, shining malls and exclusive leisure spaces. These districts are inhabited by very different communities in terms of social class, income, lifestyle, occupation, and ethnicity. Therefore, they are an ideal field to observe diverse forms of human-environment relationship, and to test to what extent could these be related to the above-mentioned inequalities and to different ontologies of the environment.Show less
Education is one of the most important determinants of an individual livelihood. Not only does education contribute to the development of a nation, but it also fosters democracy through the...Show moreEducation is one of the most important determinants of an individual livelihood. Not only does education contribute to the development of a nation, but it also fosters democracy through the teachings of democratic values in schools and exposure to the benefits of civic engagement. Furthermore, the education system of a country is reflective of its ideology and can serve as a tool for the government to shape the view of its citizens. Literature on the relationship between democracy on education is vast, but most are based on quantitative measures. Thus, this research conducts a qualitative study in analysing the effect of the level of democracy on the inclusion of democratic values in the fundamental education law of each country. Employing a diverse case selection, qualitative content analysis method, and a deductive coding frame, this thesis finds that the effect of democracy on democratic values in education law has varying effects. A clear division based on the level of democracy is visible for democratic goals in the education law, but is less visible regarding participation, freedom, and equality. The findings of this thesis contribute to narrowing the literature gap and allow further understanding of the impact of democracy on daily life and human development.Show less
This thesis looks at the impact that local traditions and beliefs can have in resolving conflicts amongst religious groups. The case study in Minahasa, Indonesia, where the local belief mapulus has...Show moreThis thesis looks at the impact that local traditions and beliefs can have in resolving conflicts amongst religious groups. The case study in Minahasa, Indonesia, where the local belief mapulus has been institutionalized into mapulus kamtibmas in order to maintain security and order, is studied in this thesis to help provide an answer. The purpose of mapulus kamtibmas is to provide a forum for communication amongst different social groups with the intention of resolving conflict via conversation. The findings demonstrate that because mapulus is only deeply embedded in the lives of Minahasan people, the mapulus kamtibmas model cannot be copied and pasted to resolve interreligious conflict outside of Minahasa. As a result, if it is founded on a shared interest that is deeply embedded in the lives of all parties involved in the conflict, a similar model can be developed in other settings. From an everyday peace perspective, this thesis emphasizes the necessity to investigate the lives of the locals in order to create religious co-existence.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
closed access
The gamelan is an ensemble, well-known as an Indonesian icon, and popular in today's media. However, how well do we really know about its background and roots? How ancient/recent is it, for...Show moreThe gamelan is an ensemble, well-known as an Indonesian icon, and popular in today's media. However, how well do we really know about its background and roots? How ancient/recent is it, for instance? The paper proposes various lines of investigation while highlighting issues of perception and definition hidden in the very core of the object of investigation. Current public perceptions of the gamelan may have to undergo challenges if we are to find an answer. In compensation for such challenges, we discover a fascinating Asia-wide cultural, social and historical perspective and a delightfully rich matrix in which the gamelan emerged.Show less
Debates about the ownership of cultural heritage have been ongoing between colonizer and colonized countries. It has only been recently that the Netherlands has been reflective of its colonial...Show moreDebates about the ownership of cultural heritage have been ongoing between colonizer and colonized countries. It has only been recently that the Netherlands has been reflective of its colonial history and has returned 472 looted art objects back to Indonesia that came into Dutch hands during the colonial period. However, Indonesia has been requesting the return of cultural heritage objects since the 1960s, with its aim to support a new national narrative of the Indonesian state. The Netherlands has been unwilling to return objects due to a loss of power in the colonies and a loss of cultural control. This thesis explores the colonial thought and power structures that underlie the discourse on the restitution of colonial artifacts, such as in the case study of the Java Man remains. By performing an adaptation of a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and employing concepts such as heritage, universal value, looted, and restitution, this thesis argues that the Dutch state and institutions, such as Naturalis, claiming ownership of the looted artifacts proves to reflect the presence of a lingering colonial way of thinking, where the West is thought of as superior in terms of scientific research and architecture. The exhibition Early Humans where the Java Man remains are stored and presented, lacks information regarding the excavation of the artifacts and the colonial context they were found in. The lack of information regarding the colonial history reaffirms the power structures of the museum, linked to their colonial past of collecting. By analyzing the discourse surrounding the remains, this thesis aims to add how such colonial thinking and power structures have been reinforced through the debate of cultural heritage ownership.Show less
After Suharto stepped down in 1998, buried grievances between natives and migrants, and Christians and Muslims, came to light. During this post-Suharto period, large-scale communal and separatist...Show moreAfter Suharto stepped down in 1998, buried grievances between natives and migrants, and Christians and Muslims, came to light. During this post-Suharto period, large-scale communal and separatist conflicts broke out across the archipelago. This thesis analyses three of these conflicts and questions why the indigenous populations of West Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, and Papua resorted to collective violence against internal labour migrants in post- Suharto Indonesia, and asks under what historical and socio-economic conditions group boundaries were made, maintained and defended. By answering these questions, this study aims to contribute to a better understanding of what drives collective violence against labour migrants, and looks to identify general mechanisms of collective violence by analysing the erosion of intergroup boundaries.Show less
Comparison between four case studies about Dutch colonial violent conflicts in Indonesia, also questioning the need for a separation in the colonial historiography of the Netherlands between the...Show moreComparison between four case studies about Dutch colonial violent conflicts in Indonesia, also questioning the need for a separation in the colonial historiography of the Netherlands between the VOC and the post-VOC colonial period.Show less
Two decades since the Bali bombings in 2002, terrorism still occurs nearly annually in Indonesia. This is despite a strong determination from the Indonesian government to eradicate the threat. This...Show moreTwo decades since the Bali bombings in 2002, terrorism still occurs nearly annually in Indonesia. This is despite a strong determination from the Indonesian government to eradicate the threat. This thesis will therefore attempt to provide an answer to the question: “Why has the Indonesian government, since the Bali bombings of 2002, so far failed to eradicate the terrorism threat, despite the police initially showing success in the aftermath of these bombings?”. In a literature review it will be noted that various authors answer this question by referring to the lack of military involvement in Indonesia’s counter-terrorism efforts. Though, in their arguments the long-term effects of such measures are often ill-considered. Therefore, this thesis will attempt to answer the research question by examining these long-term effects. The core of the argumentation will entail that the ‘hard’ approach that has been implemented by the government since the Bali bombings has created a backlash. Terrorists exploit human rights violations committed by the security forces and a significant amount of those who are incarcerated recidivate.Show less
Indonesia is experiencing a phenomenon that is called the moral turn. Increasingly, people are aiming to regulate the moralities of others and their private lives. This trend is happening at the...Show moreIndonesia is experiencing a phenomenon that is called the moral turn. Increasingly, people are aiming to regulate the moralities of others and their private lives. This trend is happening at the same time as others, like polarization. By analysing three pieces of recent (proposed) legislation that are examples of the moral turn (the Family Resilience Bill, the Sexual Violence Bill and the Criminal Code), I look at whether and to what extent the moral turn is polarizing Indonesian society. In the end, I argue that the moral turn in Indonesia has highlighted the divisions between pluralists, nationalists and liberalist on the one hand and moralists and Islamists on the other, but that it has most importantly brought these groups together as they came to several agreements around the legislative debates.Show less
The interwar period saw the rise of the European metropolis as 'hubs' of transnational anti-colonialism. This thesis focuses on the city of Amsterdam as one of these hubs and adds a spatial...Show moreThe interwar period saw the rise of the European metropolis as 'hubs' of transnational anti-colonialism. This thesis focuses on the city of Amsterdam as one of these hubs and adds a spatial approach to the historiography of the European anti-colonial 'hub'. Researching anti-colonial internationalism from a spatial perspective gives new insights into the interconnectedness of internationalism and specific sites. Transnational organizations and actors who formulated and propagated ideas on anti-colonialism were always grounded in spatial contexts. The approach to space and spatiality in this thesis is inspired by the research project ‘Conferencing the International: A Cultural and Historical Geography of the Origins of Internationalism, 1919-39’, which ran between 2015-2020 and was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This project approached internationalism from a geographical perspective, studying how divergent forms of internationalisms manifested themselves in international conferences in the interwar period. Informed by both the research project, the book Placing Internationalism, and the project’s virtual exhibition, this thesis examines the relationship between transnational anti-colonialism and the spaces of anti-colonial activity in Amsterdam.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
Indonesia is one of the countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change due to its geography. Climate change has threatened the agriculture industry and the country’s ability for food security...Show moreIndonesia is one of the countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change due to its geography. Climate change has threatened the agriculture industry and the country’s ability for food security which can be a severe problem in the future. However, there are problems with how the government of Indonesia is trying to manage the impact of climate change on agriculture, especially on rice paddy farming, due to the impacts of the past neo-liberal policy (the green revolution) and challenges within the political reformation after the downfall of the Soeharto regime. In this thesis, I am trying to explore the implications and the causes of agricultural and climate issues management problems in Indramayu, Indonesia, by utilizing Aryo Danusiri’s (2018) visual methods of menjaring (trawling) and berburu (hunting). In understanding the implications, I was using the trawling method where I argue that climate change and agricultural management problems in Indonesia are creating a precarious situation for the rice paddy farmers, in line with Anna Tsing’s (2015: 20) statement of precarity being the condition of our time. Lastly, I was using the hunting method where I found out that ‘sectoral ego’ problems within the government and aggressive neo-liberal politics as one of the major causes.Show less
This thesis investigates the following research question: ''How has the development of the economic interdependence between China and Indonesia affected their behavior in the Natuna territorial...Show moreThis thesis investigates the following research question: ''How has the development of the economic interdependence between China and Indonesia affected their behavior in the Natuna territorial dispute.'' The conclusion is that in the last twenty years Indonesia has developed an economic dependence on China. As a result, China has increasingly used bluffing in the Natuna dispute. As a response, Indonesia has been caught in a balancing act between the economic interests of the Natuna territory and its relationship with China. On the one hand, Indonesia has been constrained by China’s behavior. On het other hand, Indonesia has also been more determined to resist China’s bluffing. This has led to more incidents and incidents with a higher level of hostility over time.Show less
The versatility of palm oil makes it a demanded global commodity. Almost every product that we use in daily life contains palm oil. However, as palm oil plantations are mostly located in Southeast...Show moreThe versatility of palm oil makes it a demanded global commodity. Almost every product that we use in daily life contains palm oil. However, as palm oil plantations are mostly located in Southeast Asia’s biodiversity-rich forests, their contribution to massive deforestation has resulted in protests from the international community. As the palm oil industry is also dominated by big corporations, the global demand for palm oil incentivizes the needs for plantation expansions. Despite its adverse environmental impact, the land for plantations incrementally expands every year. Although regulations and policies to control land use for plantations have been enforced, there has been little evidence showing the decrease of land use for palm oil plantations. The patronage democracy, as a key feature of Indonesian politics, enhances incentive favouring the economic interest of business actors. With Indonesia’s democratisation, a pervasive patron-client relationship bolsters the ties between district governors (politicians) and palm oil companies (business), especially since decentralisation in which local governments are responsible for a large part of their own budget. Subsequently, it poses the question: how does patronage democracy halt the effort to combat corruption of palm oil land deals in Kalimantan? From 2 corruption cases of district head’s corruption in Gunung Mas and Seruyan district in Central Kalimantan, this research examines the creation of a system deriving from patronage democracy that halts the effort to combat corruption of palm oil land deals.Show less
Indonesia has been regarded as a prospective candidate to great power status. However, because these propositions typically build on assessments from realist theory, they overemphasize a country’s...Show moreIndonesia has been regarded as a prospective candidate to great power status. However, because these propositions typically build on assessments from realist theory, they overemphasize a country’s material capabilities (e.g. territory, GDP, and size of population) while overlooking other relevant components of status formation. In analysing power status through the lens of identity and behavioural approaches, this thesis considers the role of a country’s international relations in status change, and assesses how Indonesia’s conduct in foreign affairs affects the country’s prospects of emergence. Considering that great powers are increasingly enacting geopolitical strategies it could be expected that, as a prospective ascendant, Indonesia would follow similar procedures. Yet, the country has not only refrained itself from adopting a realist stance, it has prioritised a hedging strategy based on multilateral cooperation with regional and major powers, one that uses ASEAN as the primary vehicle for maintaining Southeast Asian security and stability. As this thesis identifies, Indonesia’s behaviour in international relations therefore does not depict any of the major motives that are expected to drive great powers to adopt realist procedures, namely: seeking greater status acquisition, and conforming to the pressure of global trends. Nevertheless, this does not necessarily imply that Indonesia is disinterested in upgrading its international ranking, nor that the country is unlikely to emerge. Rather, it poses the possibility that Indonesia may rise in ways considered atypical to Western interpretations, and achieve a hybrid power status position that incorporates elements of middle and great power states.Show less
