Research · Indo-Pacific Geopolitics

The Myth of Indonesian Neutrality

Strategic ambiguity, selective alignment, and middle-power hedging in Southeast Asian great-power politics.

Status

Ongoing Research

Field

International Relations

Focus

Indo-Pacific Strategy

This project examines Indonesia’s contemporary foreign policy through the lens of strategic ambiguity and selective alignment. It challenges conventional interpretations of Indonesia’s “bebas aktif” doctrine as a form of passive neutrality.

Instead, the research argues that Indonesia increasingly adopts a hedging strategy that simultaneously deepens economic relations with China while maintaining security cooperation with the United States and regional partners.

The project further explores how domestic political interests, institutional fragmentation, and geopolitical uncertainty shape Indonesia’s external behavior in the Indo-Pacific regional order.