The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (IKAT) just published the new article written by Myrna A Safitri from the Faculty of Law Pancasila University Jakarta. This journal brings on The Prevention of Peatland Fires in Indonesia: ‘Law in Action’ to Implement the ASEAN Haze Treaty as its title. 

This journal calls attention to Indonesia that carries a vital role in the implementation of the ASEAN Haze Treaty, signed in 2002. The ASEAN Haze Treaty is expected to reduce transboundary haze pollution and improve regional environmental governance. The Indonesian government has improved its regulation and strengthened institutional aspects of peatland protection. However, few studies appointed that these policy changes have impacted fire prevention in degraded peatland ecosystems. Based on the issues, this article would examine the political factors behind the legal and institutional changes in Indonesia’s peatland governance during 2016-2020. It is known that there are six predominant factors in peatland law improvement: strong leadership, improved coordination at the national and sub-national levels, making operational directives, establishing a specialized Government institution dealing with peatland restoration, law enforcement, and the strength of civil society in doing public oversight.

Read the full article in the IKAT, The Indonesian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies that could be accessed in the link below:

https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/ikat/article/view/65027

An Op-Ed for Media Indonesia in Inspirasi Bulaksumur rubric just published last week (2021/07/29) written by Drs Muhadi Sugiono, MA (Department of International Relation UGM Lecturer, Institute of International Studies UGM and Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies UGM researcher). This Op-Ed calls attention to the role of Higher Education to contribute to the issue of global nuclear disarmament. Through the Institute of International Studies (IIS) research institute, UGM is actively campaigning and advocating for nuclear disarmament on the national and international levels.

Muhadi wrote about ‘Kontribusi Kampus untuk Dunia tanpa Senjata Nuklir’ or ‘University Contribution for a World without Nuclear Weapons’ in English, mentioning IIS UGM is an important partner of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear (ICAN), an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. This global coalition works to monitor the full implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In this context according to Muhadi, UGM as Higher Education Institution is taking part of the solution to national and global social problems.

Full article could be accessed in E-Paper of Media Indonesia : https://epaper.mediaindonesia.com/detail/kontribusi-kampus-untuk-dunia-tanpa-senjata-nuklir

For those who want to learn more about our neighbouring country Vietnam. See more here on its ideology by a Vietnamese scholar Tran Ti Dieu here in IKAT current issue: https://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/ikat/article/view/56279

Climate crisis and the Covid 19 outbreak are key themes along with new research methodology strategies in the Pacific Journalism Review. This edition has been published in partnership with Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta with several papers from “Rethinking the Social World in the 21st Century” symposium in August being published. For full edition click here https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/issue/view/45

As a part of the working collaboration between the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada and the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, Tamkang University, Taiwan, A joint paper by Prof. Jian Bang Deng, Prof. Hermin Indah Wahyuni and Dr. phil. Vissia Ita Yulianto is just published. This paper calls attention to the close linkage between transnational mobility and social inequality. It showed how the transnationalization of social inequality could get new faces through the new waves of labor migration. The issue of social inequality not only reflects the policy levels of receiving and sending countries, but it also is shown in experiences of the individual labor migrants in their transnational careers.
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Sebagai bagian dari kolaborasi antara PSSAT UGM dan Universitas Tamkang Taiwan, telah dipublikasikan joint paper oleh Prof. Jian Bang Deng, Prof. Hermin Indah Wahyuni dan Dr. phil. Vissia Ita Yulianto. Paper ini memberikan gambaran mengenai hubungan mobilitas transnasional dan ketimpangan sosial. Dalam penelitian ini, dijabarkan bahwa transnasionalisasi dari ketimpangan sosial dapat memberikan gelombang baru isi buruh migrant. Isu ketimpangan sosial bukan hanya direfleksikan oleh kebijakan pengirim dan penerima tenaga kerja namun juga terlihat dari pengalaman yang dialami para migran saat bekerja diluar negeri.

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The rise of China as a global power has led to the state of panic throughout the world. Despite the insistence by its leaders of China’s ‘peaceful rise,’ fear, anxiety and even hostility toward China has widely been spread. While most analyses are focused more on the implications of the growing power of China on various aspects of power relations, less attention has been given to the way in which China is perceived in other countries. Arguably, the construction of China as a serious threat has played similarly important role in the negative responses of other countries toward the rise of China. The proposed research will fill the gap in the academic discourse on this issue by focusing the analysis on the perception on China and on the framing of its rise. In addition, by focusing on the case of Indonesia, the proposed research will not only help us better understand Indonesian policy toward China but can also be of significance for design more appropriate policy toward China. Departing from constructivist theoretical framework, the research will be conducted through examining documents and speeches, media coverage as well as interviews or focused group discussion.

This research by Muhadi Sugiono, Hermin Indah Wahyuni, and Dafri Agussalim will be conducted in collaboration with the Asean Studies Center (ASC), at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

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.

Through the cases of maritime disasters in Semarang and Aceh, this research aims to offer novel insight into measuring the performance of disaster management from a political point of view. Success tackling disaster is not merely about technicalities, but relies on an interplay of systems, i.e. communication and the politics of disaster. These systems should reinforce each other to enable social resilience. Political openness, inclusiveness, and democratisation in these systems might benefit the promotion of resilience. Meanwhile, failing to better include multi-layered stakeholders might result in a higher level of societal risk. Three aspects of communication and the politics of disaster will be examined in this research: values and norms, regulation, and the governance of disaster response.

To attain a comprehensive understanding, this research will use a qualitative approach combining several data collection procedures, including interviews, focus group discussions, simple content analysis, observation, and review of policy documents.

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.

The failure of the border dispute settlement has not only prevented the development of the area but also, more seriously, led to uncertainty and instability in the relations among the people occupying the border area. Tension, conflict and violence emerged as a result of this uncertain situation. The tension triggered by alleged invasion of the East Timorese in the Indonesian territory, for example, has escalated into violence and declaration of war in the society in 2016.

The unsettled border area is inhabited by the people with ties of kinship. The new international border will undoubtedly separate and break the ties. But, unsettled interstate border will transform kinship relations into enmity relations. It is within this context that the initiative of masyarakat adat should be seen as break through the deadlock and a positive step to prevent the situation from worsening. A serious study, therefore, is needed to support the case of such traditional conflict resolution.

This study by Drs. Muhadi Sugiono, MA, Atin Prabandari, MA, Edegar Da Conceicao Savio, Ph.D, Jose Cornelio Guterres, Ph.D, Prof. Dr. Aloysius Liliweri, Dr. Kotan Y. Stefanus, Dr. Ajis S.A Djaha, and Bilveer Singh from Program Hibah Kolaboratif Internasional Fakultas ISIPOL UGM in 2018 is an effort to answer the above problems, in order to understand the extent to which masyarakat adat initiative could provide alternative problem solving to the impasse and unresolved border dispute. Collaborating with academic activist from the Univesidade da Paz, National University of Singapore, and Pascasarjana Universitas Nusa Cendana, this research will shed the way for connecting academics in two countries in solving common social and political problems; bringing academic endeavor in solving real social and political problems (research 2.0). Academically, this research will also give insight on the active and significant role, knowledge, practices and local wisdom of indigenous society in the border dispute settlement (research 1.0). Furthermore, the research will illuminate our understanding on alternative border dispute settlement in post-colonial states in Indonesia in particular and Southeast Asia in general.

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.

Nevertheless, so far documentary film research in Indonesia has focused more on certain thematic (content) aspects and institutional dimensions related to documentary screening organizers. There has not been much exploration of documentary film as a text as well as its social implications in certain contexts in Indonesia. Therefore, this study intends to examine more deeply the complex relationships between documentary films with social change. The novelty of this research lies in the effort to find practical implications or dimensions of practical documentary films in relation to social change in Indonesia.

Using a case study, this research explores data through in-depth interviews with a number of documentary film community activists active in several regions in Indonesia, such as: Banda Aceh, Banjarnegara, Klaten, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Lombok, Palu and Makassar. In addition, the data extracted from the field will be combined with the text analysis of a number of documentary films that contain social change in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the essence of the message to be conveyed. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the knowledge of documentary films in inspiring and becoming a catalyst for social change in Indonesia by considering the context and problems that are unique to each region. Thus, the final output of this research is in the form of publications in various forms, including: scientific journal articles (national and international), books, manuals (guides) in producing and organizing screenings of documentary films oriented to social change.

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).

With this in mind, this research is in line with one of the research priorities of Gadjah Mada University, namely the handling of vulnerable communities. In this study, adolescents (men and women) are vulnerable groups that easily fall into child marriages. This research maps out the forms of transfer of knowledge about reproductive health between children in the family environment, children in the school environment, children in the community, and the influence of conventional mass media and online media that provide opportunities or become obstacles in accessing knowledge about reproductive health. This situation is also in accordance with the research plan of Gadjah Mada University, namely the issue of cultural aspects of social media and digital media and research maps of the Center for Southeast Asian Social Studies UGM, namely social, political and cultural dynamics in the Southeast Asia region, specifically Indonesia.

The long-term goal of the research by Prof. Dr. Partini, Dr.phil. Hermin Indah Wahyuni, and Lidwina Mutia Sadasri, MA of the Higher Education Leading Basic Research Grant Program – PDUPT in 2018-2019 is to encourage the formulation of human development policies, especially women who are sensitive to the Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (HKRS) through comprehensive reproductive health education in various educational institutions. The specific target to be achieved through this research is the publication of research on mapping reproductive health education and its potential to prevent child marriages. In fulfilling this, the real method carried out is to provide authentic data qualitatively and quantitatively obtained in the field and then to collaborate with various relevant stakeholders (government, educational institutions, BKKBN, NGOs). Forms of publications include international and national research journals, publication of books, recommendations for public policy formulation, research results seminars, and training on reproductive health for adolescents.