Indonesia

Indonesia

Arief Budiman (1941-2020): liberated intellectual in authoritarian times

When I last met him, in his stylish bamboo-walled house in Salatiga in April last year, I thanked him for what he had done for me. Arief looked puzzled. “You taught me politics,” I said. Then he smiled. My hair had grown white. His body, eleven years older than mine, was wasted by Parkinsons. We …

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The state of Indonesian language in Australian universities: the past 20 years.

A recent volume tracing ‘the journey of Australia’s first Asian language’ (Thomas, 2019) finds that, while successive Australian governments have identified Indonesia as Australia’s most important neighbour and as a key to Australia’s prosperity and security, this recognition has not sustained interest among Australians in studying the language. For the last two decades, the study …

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Emeritus Professor Merle Calvin Ricklefs 1943-2019

Obituary: Merle Ricklefs Merle Ricklefs, who passed away in Melbourne on 29 December 2019, was the pre-eminent scholar of Javanese Islam of his generation and, more broadly, one of the leading historians of Indonesia.  He also played a significant leadership role in Asian Studies in Australia as well as the development of Aboriginal tertiary education …

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Muslims versus Muslims in the 2019 Indonesian Presidential Election

Indonesia is set to hold its presidential election on April 19, 2019. The occasion is the most important democratic event for the people as they will choose a candidate to lead the country until 2024. The excitement of welcoming this democratic exercise can be felt throughout the country. The candidates include the incumbent President Joko …

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