Society

The social role of architects and architecture in kampung upgrading

A Central Java village has been revitalised by sustainable, socially responsible design

Essays and Fiction is a new series of writing in Inside Indonesia that aims to give voice to more personal stories about Indonesia. We welcome submissions in the form of reflective pieces, fiction, artwork, or essays about travel and fieldwork experiences.

The edge of Merah-Putih

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

Can the industry’s political and financial resources continue to stall important regulatory change?

Indonesia’s unions are engaging in electoral politics in unprecedented ways in an attempt to balance the influence of business

Junaedi gives a rare insight into Indonesia's football culture

Riverbank settlers love Jokowi, but they don’t want him to become president

Returned migrant workers have much to offer, but have trouble achieving recognition for the skills they’ve developed abroad

Not even Mount Kelud erupting could stop Yogyakarta's activists from standing up against violence to women as part of One Billion Rising

A new bug for running points toward a new politics of lifestyle

It’s easy to blame the central government for all of Papua’s problems, but it’s also inaccurate

Special Autonomy has crippled health services in the Papuan Highlands

Indonesian politicians quite often star inadvertently in porn films, but it doesn’t seem to hurt them much

Cosmopolitanism is a magnificent ideal for a world torn by divisions and it exists in Indonesia in some surprising places. But how deep does and can it go?

Riau Islanders prove you don’t have to be rich, or even mobile, to be a citizen of the world

An interview with Enrico Aditjondro

Cosmopolitanism is a dirty word in rural West Java, where creativity and new words are needed to reopen dialogue