Non-Aligned Podcast

What does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mean for Asia? In this relaunch of the Non-Aligned Podcast hear from Bilahari Kausikan, the former head of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former ambassador to Russia. Topics: How Russia miscalculated and China is in a bind — What the West gets wrong about Russia — Why he rejects IR theorist Mearsheimer’s “crude realism” — The paradox of Singapore-China relations — What to expect for China and the Indopacific over the horizon. Theme music thanks to Nova and Filastine. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

An emergency podcast on the escalating pandemic crisis in Indonesia. Dr Sana Jaffrey is the new director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), the organisation founded by Sidney Jones in Jakarta. She is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC., for whom she is writing about Indonesia’s management of the pandemic. Theme music thanks to Nova and Filastine. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

Is Jokowi the most powerful president of Indonesia’s post-Suharto era? In this episode we speak to Marcus Mietzner about the political intrigue that may give president Joko Widodo control of one of the last two opposition parties and thus 91% of seats in parliament. Dr Marcus Mietzner is Associate Professor at the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific. He is a prolific author on Indonesian politics and he is working on a long-term project on the power of the Indonesian presidency, and its limits. Theme music thanks to Nova and Filastine. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

The podcast returns with an urgent discussion of the February 1 military coup in Myanmar. Moe Thuzar updates us on the latest developments on the ground in Myanmar and the prospects for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Fanny Potkin explains the military’s cyber warfare capabilities and the protesters’ tactics. And we consider the role of social media and the Milk Tea Alliance in the growing Civil Disobedience Movement. Moe Thuzar is Co-coordinator of the Myanmar Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and Fanny Potkin (@f_potkin) is the Southeast Asia technology correspondent for Reuters. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

In this episode we speak to Ian Wilson (@iwilson69) about his research of over a decade on the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), an Islamist group that challenges Indonesia’s democratic status quo. We talk about how to distinguish the FPI from other militant groups and Ian explains his concept of “morality racketeering”. We end by covering some curious gang connections between Indonesia and Australia. Dr Ian Wilson is Senior Lecturer in Politics and Security Studies at Murdoch University and the author of The Politics of Protection Rackets in Post-New Order Indonesia: Coercive capital, authority and street politics. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

In this episode we discuss populism, the Trump effect, and the homecoming of Islamist leader Rizieq Shihab to Indonesia. Sidney Jones is the founder and director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) and Liam Gammon is a PhD candidate at the Australian National University and has written on Indonesian populism in the new book Democracy in Indonesia: From Stagnation to Regression?, by Thomas Power and Eve Warburton (ISEAS Publishing). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com

Launching the Non-Aligned Podcast, hosted by Quinton Temby and Made Supriatma. In this first episode we discuss the recent protests in Indonesia, talk to journalist Jasmine Chia about Thailand’s historic Free Youth movement and, inevitably, consider the fate of America on the eve of the 2020 presidential election. (Theme music thanks to Nova and Filastine.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.indopacifica.com