When in 2002 Indonesia established a constitutional court nobody anticipated just how important this new institution was going to be. Its rulings are widely reported and they have had an impact on fields ranging from economic policy...
President Jokowi is popular enough to do without military support. Yet New Order-era soldiers have always been close by his side. Now he has gone one further. Who is Wiranto? In a cabinet reshuffle on 27 July he ...
One of the most common social sciences research methods is (online) surveys. While there are many benefits to this method, there are also many pitfalls, like, not being able to get people to fill out the survey you ...
Indonesia’s Chinese authored literature reached its peak of popularity in the 1930s. Access to these unique sources is slowly improving. Tom Hoogervorst escaped Jakarta’s archives for a rendezvous with two passionate...
Young people’s desires to become educated and upwardly mobile are often understood as signs of rising affluence and changing markets for education and work in Southeast Asia. Meanings that young people attribute...
The road to Enlightenment is never easy, but for some people it is easier than for others. Last May I visited Borobudur. This giant eighth century Buddhist shrine and world heritage site is located in Indonesia where now ...
Confronting Caribbean Challenges researcher, Sanne Rotmeijer, is just back from almost a year doing fieldwork on Curaçao and St. Maarten. She shares her perspective on identity, belonging, and what Brexit and nationalist...
Walking through the entrance gate to the shopping street ‘Pasar Baru’, Jakarta, was like stepping into my favourite movie, says Jemma Middleton. I recognised the different shops, the old and new architecture, the way a shopkeeper was advertising...
Confronting Caribbean Challenges researcher Jessica Vance Roitman was recently in Havana, Cuba for the yearly Association of Caribbean Historians conference. In this blog, she contemplates her role as a tourist feeding...
The fasting month in Indonesia comes with new gadgets and ‘special offers’ advertisements. Chris Chaplin wonders whether or not this affects the pious character of fasting. On the 6th June the majority of Muslims across the world welcomed the start...