In the midst of the global refugee crisis, there has been much discussion regarding the management of refugees and asylum seekers in the developed world, however, this issue has been somewhat overlooked in Indonesia. Historically, Indonesia has been utilised as a transit country, due to its geographical location, archipelago geography, and bureaucratic functioning.   This trend has continued in recent years – in 2016, approximately 13,829 refugees arrived in Indonesia.  However, whilst Indonesia may still be characterised as a transit country, this reality is quickly changing, particularly as both Australia and the United States, two primary re-settlement nations, have decreased their refugee intake.  In 2016, 761 refugees were resettled to the US, and 347 to Australia, almost a 50% decrease in settlement from the previous year.  A drop in re-settlement rates, coupled with an inevitable increase in re-settlement waiting periods, has contributed to the transformation of Indonesia’s role as a country that merely acts as a place of transit, to a destination where refugees are now spending a significant amount of time.  Given these circumstances, the need for a more robust solution in the Government’s approach and attitude towards refugees has become evident. read more

Traffic accidents still remain as a critical problem in Southeast Asia. Based on the report of the ASEAN Regional Road Safety Strategy in 2016, the biggest risk faced by most ASEAN countries is traffic accidents caused by the considerable number of two-wheeled vehicles as the primary transportation. The number of trauma due to traffic accidents is quite high in ASEAN. Compared with other ASEAN countries, Vietnam becomes one of the countries with the highest mortality rate, which is 23,60% of 10,000 per population according to Bloomberg read more

Conference Proceeding “Social Science in the Age of Transformation and Disruption: Its Relevance, Role and Challenge” (2018)

The publication of this proceeding of the International Symposium on Social Science 2018 has been planned with the support from UGM, CESASS, and Dikti. Contain the abstracts and papers presented at the conference, it discuss the issues in social sciences using various perspectives and approaches.

Changing social layers in society are inevitable things during the globalization era. Technological progress becomes the most observable thing to see. The movement from traditional to modern technology is usually called as modernization. This happens due to the innovations of the world scientists which bring some impacts for the entire layers of society. The positive impact of modernization on human beings can be seen from facilitation in daily activities. For example, labor who initially worked manually to produce goods might take several days to complete. Because of technological support, labor now is able to produce more and faster goods. read more

On Friday (7/12/18), Taylah Bell (Murdoch University & ACICIS Study Indonesia), Zoe Croucher (La Trobe University & ACICIS Study Indonesia), Angelo Wijaya (Gadjah Mada University), and Anisa Dian Larasati (Gadjah Mada University ) present at the UGM PSSAT Library to provide material on A Comparative Analysis of Blasphemy Laws in Singapore and Indonesia, ASEAN’s Role in Natural Disasters, Philippines’ Approach to South China Sea Dispute, and Return to Education: Any Human Capital Improvements in Indonesia in SEA Chat # 10: Panel Discussion. read more

Introduction

If there’s one thing that Southeast Asia should be known for, it is one thing; Diversity. This region is the home to many cultures, belief, traditions, cuisines that extends all the way to its rich biodiversity. The region hosted millions of species that ranges from both animals and plants. Many states in this region are in fact, aware of this fact and the notion of this leads majority of states in Southeast Asia to sign and ratify the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna 1975 ) within their national legislation, as a measure taken to protect 3000 species of flora and fauna. In Indonesia, CITES has already been ratified into Law no 5 Year 1990 for the conservation of living resources and Ecosystems. The ratification process itself are divided into 3 (three) criteria in which the former one (1) are deemed the most effective, while the latter one is the deemed ineffective (3) due to the lack of alignment between the content within the legislation and the aforementioned conventions. read more

This research by Dr.phil. Hermin Indah Wahyuni, Theresia Octastefani, M.AP., M.Pol.Sc, Muhammad Rum, IMAS, and Prof. David Robie from Program Hibah Kolaboratif Internasional Fakultas ISIPOL UGM in 2018 is intended to analyse the communication and politics of disaster in Indonesia through an examination of the multi-layered responses to two maritime disasters: tidal flooding in Semarang and the threat of tsunamis in Aceh. Although these maritime disasters have different characteristics, both were destructive. While tidal flooding in Semarang has been a slow-onset disaster, tsunamis in Aceh arrive suddenly. Tidal flooding has occurred along the northern coast of Java for decades, but yet to be mitigated; in fact, it has only expanded and caused more damage. Meanwhile, the 2004 tsunami in Aceh was the largest maritime disaster ever experienced in Indonesia, killing hundreds of thousands, causing massive destruction, and creating a number of social problems that remain even today. The main vision of the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) government to reaffirm Indonesia’s status as a strong maritime country cannot be optimally realised, and may even be hindered, if these disasters cannot be addressed. read more

Border dispute constitutes one of the most challenging issues in the normalisation of the relations between Indonesia and Timor Leste. Two land borders separate the two countries: 150 km in the eastern part and 120 km in the western part (Oecusse, Timor Leste’s enclave inside Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur). While the eastern part of the border has successfully been negotiated, the western part of the border remains disputed until today. Negotiations of the unsettled borders continue until today without significant progress. Different interpretation exists between Indonesian and Timor Leste negotiators. read more

Research by Dr. Budi Irawanto, Dr. Novi Kurnia, and Theresia Octastefani, M.AP from the Higher Education Leading Basic Research Grant Program – PDUPT 2018-2020 aims to examine the links between documentary films and social change in Indonesia. Since the process of democratization (Reformation) has begun since 1998, documentary films have experienced decent growth and their production has increasingly spread to a number of regions in Indonesia. In contrast to fiction, documentary films rely on factuality and carry out truth claims on the reality that it raises. More than just representing a variety of social problems, documentary films have the power to open insight, raise awareness and shape certain attitudes. Not surprisingly, documentary films are able to persuade the audience, create a layered meaning, provide a rich experience and create a new awareness of the various issues (issues) of social, political, cultural or ecological that they represent. read more

Child marriage is defined as marriage performed by children under the age of 18 who are forced, or of their own volition. In this practice, girls are the most disadvantaged because they are related to the high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and the obstruction of their potential to develop themselves. One of the most basic forms of child marriage prevention is the application of understanding reproductive health, especially for adolescents. Unfortunately, this has not been maximized because of religious and socio-cultural challenges. Thus, studies of the need for strengthening reproductive health are urgently needed regarding efforts to save the younger generation and gender equality in accordance with the 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). read more