New diplomatic challenges await next government

Bantarto Bandoro, Editor, The Indonesian Quarterly Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta, bandoro@csis.or.id

Many here are quite skeptical the general election will guarantee better domestic political, economic, social and security conditions. Such skepticism is based mainly on the poor performance of the current regime with regard to the management of national issues.

Several presidential candidates have promised to bring the country to the stage where people will see a working, new-look Indonesia.

We will not have a new government until later in October. And this new government, regardless of its political ideology, will definitely have to face new challenges -- both domestic and international.

Political parties have touched on the issues of the economy, social security, education, law enforcement and the eradication of corruption more often than the issue of defense and foreign policy, assuming an international focus would not help them win the people's hearts. They go on selling their "domestic products", without realizing public support is also important for our international relations and standing.

Perhaps it is time for our presidential candidates to express, especially during their campaigns, their thoughts on the future of our international role. A candidates's ability to talk openly, plainly and convincingly about foreign policy and other Indonesian-related international affairs will help voters understand better how important it is for Indonesia to maintain international links, both for the sake of our economic recovery and to support our new regime.

It is within such a context we need to understand the massive diplomatic and other international challenges the new government is about to face. The world is experiencing a transformation of human civilization and rapidly progressing towards a new order based on shared values of democracy, human rights and liberal market economics. All this is especially true after the invasion of Iraq.

With the increasing complexity of international relations and the problems we might face, it is likely our next government will be at a watershed -- it must change a great deal managing our international relations, both from within and externally.

The president-elect is likely to bring new leaders into office and this could set into motion processes that bring changes in policy. These new leaders and personnel will bring with them new expectations about the country's international role and position. These new policies, if they prove useful, will have to take into account the current trends in world politics.

The new regime must obviously possess legitimacy but this alone is not sufficient. Support from the international community to the new regime is as important as the implementation and the substance of its new policy.

Once the new cabinet is officiated, the immediate policy steps it initiates must assure the international community of its commitment to principles of good governance and to continuing stability and security in Southeast Asia.

Our presidential election will take place at a time when our multilateralism has been strengthened and is the norm in contemporary international relations. So, in conducting international diplomacy, our next government will have to look for every possibility offered by multilateralism to promote our new national and global interests.

What must not change is our commitment to be continually part of international collaboration in establishing a more secure and stable global environment -- not of course at the expense of our basic national interest.

This is, however, not to suggest the insignificance of bilateral forums for promoting this interest. A two-pronged strategy, either through multi or bilateral mechanisms, must be employed if the next government is to secure the gains it has already obtained from being part of international diplomacy.

Through such a diplomatic mechanism, the new government needs to manage its foreign policy in such a way that it leads to the solution of our ongoing domestic problems as well as to major changes in our international position.

The new government will have consider if its new strategies produce a balance between the nation's commitment to fill its domestic needs and the imperative to manage the country's international relations.

In the myriad of diplomatic challenges the new government will have to face, it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that will be at the forefront in managing such challenges. This office must be ready to readjust and, if necessary, change its outlook so as to adapt to the changed domestic and international environment.

There must be a consensus, however, that peace, stability and prosperity at home depend largely on developments outside and we must influence those developments by mobilizing whatever resources are available.

New national policies are doomed to failure if they are not part of an overall solution. Remedies for problems in certain policy areas, therefore, can only be sought in an international framework. This is where Indonesia will face some of its biggest challenges.

The writer is also a lecturer for the International Relations, Post Graduate Studies Program at the School of Political and Social Sciences in the University of Indonesia, Jakarta.