Decentralisation

The village head as patron

The Village Law might restore the dominance that village heads enjoyed under Suharto

Participation in Ngada

Why residents in Ngada district are exceptionally eager to take part in village meetings

When village development fails

Faulty administrative procedures led to the misuse of village development funds in Papua

Traditional village institutions and the Village Law

The Village Law provides recognition for traditional village institutions, but villagers in Bali and Mentawai are not interested

Politics of the Indonesian city

York University professor Abidin Kusno shares reflections on Ahok's leadership

A parliamentary free-for-all

Indonesia’s political parties have lost control over the national budgeting process, as members of parliament prioritise their constituencies – and themselves.

Cultural heritage: The politics of pictures of Indonesia

When visitors take pictures of Indonesia, they tend to photograph Indonesia’s cultural heritage. These pictures share certain qualities. They seem harmonious and to be of activities or places that have remained the same for generations or centuries. They also often exclude people or represent them as bound by history and relics of a past era

Samarinda’s deadly mining pits

A GSM plaintiff and a farmer stand on the edge of her mined land in Samarinda - Armin Hari

The end of the boom has not meant an end to the perilous impact of coal mining in East Kalimantan

Religious Bandung II: The champion arrives

Bandung’s civic improvement program continues after its patron is imprisoned

Cash for the cashless

The new Village Law pumps money directly into subsistence villages: a crazy idea, or new development paradigm?

A more efficient approach to social welfare?

Jokowi’s fresh approach to social welfare and development will not be without its challenges

An ongoing environmental challenge

More action is needed if Indonesia is to slow its current world record rate of forest loss

Lessons learned from Indonesia’s conflicts: Aceh, Poso and Papua

Herb Feith Annual Memorial Lecture 2014

Famine and fraud

A story of mass starvation tells us much about media coverage and local government in Papua

Married with children

It runs in the family: the Limpo clan on display, Michael Buehler

The second round of direct elections for governors and district heads shows that democratisation is allowing powerful families to entrench themselves in local politics