A Closer Look: Indonesia after Jokowi
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A Closer Look
Indonesia is gearing up to hold the world’s largest single-day election. On February 14, 2024, more than 204 million people, over half who are under 39, are eligible to vote who should succeed President Joko Widodo.
Jokowi's approval rating hit a stratospheric 76% in December 2023. Indonesians praise his domestic policies, like massive investments in infrastructure and social assistance programs. And though NGOs are saying the civic space in the country is shrinking because of repressive measures, this doesn't seem to concern most of the 275 million Indonesians.
On the world stage, Widodo’s legacy is a mixed bag, although he had plenty of opportunity to make his mark presiding over the G20 in 2022 and ASEAN in 2023. He has shown little interest in foreign affairs, frustrated that great power rivalries are dragging down his number one priority: economic progress.
One of his biggest economic successes is the export ban on raw nickel, of which Indonesia has more than any other country. It put the country in the crosshairs of Europe, which has been trying to negotiate a free trade deal with Jakarta since 2016. Indonesia and Switzerland have a free trade agreement in effect since November 2021.
What is Jokowi’s legacy, after ten years in power? Why do so many Indonesians regret he can't remain in power, even though he tried? Is Indonesia punching below its weight, being the most populous country and largest economy in Southeast Asia?
Both Widodo and the frontrunner to succeed him, former general Prabowo Subianto, have the stated goal to create a ‘Golden Indonesia’ which radiates leadership and influence on the global stage and is one of the five largest economies in the world by 2045, when the country celebrates a century of independence. How does this ambition affect the region? What kind of partner will Indonesia be to us here in Europe, as we, together with other middle powers, try to find our place in the great power struggle between China and the U.S.?
Join us online for A Closer Look: Indonesia after Jokowi, and hear directly from Jakarta how Jokowi's legacy is seen there, and what Indonesians think of the state of their country, with experts Yosifebi Ramadhani, who is involved with digital platforms informing young Indonesians –the majority of the electorate– on their country's politics; Fakhridho Susilo, who helps connect investors to the right people in the Indonesian government; and Gita Damayana, an expert on democratization and legal reform in Indonesia.
SPEAKERS

Fakhridho Susrahadiansyah Bagus Pratama Susilo is a senior analyst at BowerGroupAsia in Jakarta, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific, where he does policy and regulatory analyses, stakeholder mapping and engagement, and policy advocacy for global clients. He is also a lecturer of law at President University and a founding member and researcher of KiPRAH Indonesia, a think-tank and non-profit working on sustainable development and good governance. Ridho’s research interests intersect the areas of democracy, political change, geopolitics, and the political economy of development in the Asia Pacific. He has written extensively for national and international media and has published in various academic outlets on these topics. He holds a PhD in policy and governance from the Crawford School of Public Policy, the Australian National University. He is the recipient of the 2022-2023 Fox International Fellowship at Yale University, Macmillan Center for International and Area Studies. He obtained his Master’s in Public Policy in from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and completed his Bachelor’s degree in international law at the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia.

Yosifebi Ramadhani is the Corporate Communications Lead at Think Policy, a one-stop platform to improve the public policy ecosystem in Indonesia. Through Think Policy, Yosi is also involved in Bijak Memilih (“vote wisely”), an independent movement to make it easier for young people to get relevant and credible information ahead of the 2024 election. With a background in communication and media, Yosi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Binus International and a Master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from the University of Sydney. In her spare time, Yosi is also actively involved in the Indonesian English Debate Community, which she has been a part of since 2012.

Gita Putri Damayana from Jakarta is a PhD candidate at The Australian National University College of Asia Pacific - School of Regulation & Global Governance, under the Australia Award Scholarship. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Indonesia and a Master’s degree in law from the University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, under a Fulbright Scholarship Award from the U.S. Department of State. Gita's research areas are law and regulatory reform, legislative process and civic space. Prior to her study at ANU, Gita was Executive Director at the Indonesia Centre for Law and Policy Study and lecturer at Indonesia Jentera School of Law in Jakarta. As a researcher, Gita works in various areas in legal reform with other Indonesia civil society organizations, especially in anti-corruption and civic space advocacy. Her proposed PhD research explores what shapes Indonesia's legislative process after 25 years of reform and what the best way is to construct future regulatory reform.