Tepat 20 tahun lalu, tahun 1999, bangsa Indonesia mengalami peristiwa luar biasa : propinsi Timor Timur lepas dari NKRI setelah jajak pendapat yang dilakukan oleh PBB. Lepasnya Timor Timur juga dibarengi tragedi kemanusiaan yang ditandai kerusuhan, kekerasan, pembunuhan, pembakaran rumah dan gedung, dan ratusan ribu pengungsi. Mungkin sulit dipercaya, sampai sekarang tidak ada satupun kajian…
As if Covid-19 and economic recession were not enough, the world today has to bear with a wrangle between France and the Islamic world, sparked by controversy over President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statements about Islam. Macron made his comments after the gruesome beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown a cartoon of Prophet…
Which country has Indonesia grown closest to in the last five years? My answer would be: China. Indonesia's partnership with China is perhaps the most substantial compared to that with other countries. Indonesia trades with China almost three times more than with the United States. China's investment in Indonesia has been the fastest growing compared…
In recent months, the world has witnessed a curious development in U.S. foreign policy: the emergence of a very hawkish, hostile and confrontational policy toward China. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has given a series of speeches attacking China. His speeches present some new themes: they aim specifically at the Chinese Communist Party…
The preferred policy response of every country threatened by COVID-19 seems to be a lockdown, or severely restricting movement (of people, goods and services) into and out of cities or countries. For now, this is undoubtedly the best way to slow down, contain and hopefully roll back the spread of the novel coronavirus within and…