New government to face intermeshed domestic and international issues
New government to face intermeshed domestic and international issues
Yayan GH Mulyana, Fulbright Program Alumnus, Bogor, West Java,
yanvontsazik@yahoo.com
On April 13, 2004 The Jakarta Post published an article by
Bantarto Bandoro entitled New diplomatic challenges await next
government. I generally share the views presented in the article.
This piece of writing is intended to add to Bandoro's
observations by focusing on structural requirements and greater
details concerning issues that will challenge the new government.
Soon after its establishment, the new government will have to
deal with diverse international and domestic or -- using Foreign
Minister Hassan Wirajuda's term -- "intermeshed affairs". Such
concerns reflect an inevitably enduring confluence between
dynamics that occur at both international and domestic levels,
propelled by globalization and other transnational forces. It is
the duty of the new government to manage such a convergence in a
manner that could result in the greatest possible benefits for
all Indonesians.
In which ways would these intermeshed issues be best
addressed? Many believe that whoever presides over Indonesia will
not be able to solve its problems comprehensively. While bearing
some truth, such a conviction tends to discourage the importance
of creating an innovative and proactive administration, which
would offer a concrete road map to break free of stagnancy.
Thus, an inventive and determined government is needed now.
When the United States of America was undergoing the great
depression of the 1930s, for example, President Theodore
Roosevelt initiated a "new deal" policy that, in general, laid
the foundation for a stronger America in the coming decades.
Addressing intermeshed issues requires a different kind of
administration. First, the new government should be sensitive,
not only to domestic issues, but also to international affairs --
particularly those that affect national interests. With the
leading role of the foreign ministry, government agencies should
have a reasonable degree of foreign literacy.
Second, the new government should be able to frame an agenda
based on needs and issues that emerge at home and abroad. An
administration that is receptive to these issues, as well as
their interrelationships, would have a better chance of devising
viable domestic and foreign policies.
Third, the new government should be able to strategize or
"feel the game" for an active response to each intermeshed issue
that matters to Indonesia.
As far as intermeshed issues are concerned, poverty and
underdevelopment remain critical. These predicaments have been
the result of complex interaction between domestic conditions --
such as lack of capital and low human resources -- and
international dynamics -- such as less inclusive globalization
and the slow growth of international trade and development.
The incorporation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and other outcomes of United Nations summits and conferences into
national policies addressing these issues, should build a
stronger foundation for addressing the problems.
Incorporating multilateral commitments into national policies
should also be coupled with regional and bilateral efforts.
Regional and bilateral diplomacies should bring about
constructive impact on the whole process of national development.
In the economic sector, the cooperation should create tangible
results featuring, among other things, robust investments that
generate employment.
Credibility is closely linked with the incoming foreign
capital to Indonesia. A credible government is not only
professional and free from corruption, collusion, and nepotism,
but also capable of creating a secure and conducive economic
environment. The presence of a favorable economic climate could
be made possible by creating a politically stable Indonesia. When
stability is secured, economic activities and development move
forward. Under these circumstances, homegrown economic players
and their foreign partners would enjoy a conducive business
environment.
Promotion and protection of human rights -- including women's
rights, rights of the child, labor rights, rights of disabled
people and the elderly -- is a must if the new government wishes
to make Indonesia a modern state. In terms of institutional,
legal and substantive measures, the progress of human rights
promotion in Indonesia is notable. Further efforts remain needed
in order to ensure that the globalization of human rights is
coherent with national processes of protecting human rights, and
vice versa.
Human rights diplomacy requires concerted efforts involving
domestic and international processes. The presence of a gap
between the domestic and international levels would result in a
two-level game effect that could jeopardize the existing
measures.
In the past, Indonesian human rights diplomacy was often
disturbed by unexpected acts of human rights violation in the
field. Thus, human rights promotion is the responsibility of all
and the new government should devise its human rights policies
within such a context.
Democratization, as well as the promotion of good governance
and the law, remain relevant tasks for the new government.
Partnership between the new government and different elements of
civil society should be enhanced in order to nurture a people-
based democracy. An attempt toward standard-setting through
multilateral processes, such as via the UN, should address the
particular and indigenous conditions of Indonesia.
National sovereignty and territorial integrity remains a
critical issue that requires serious attention. This issue has
been challenged, not only by secessionist movement and voices in
various parts of Indonesia, but also by transnational forces such
as international terrorism, the illicit trade of arms and light
weapons, people smuggling, trafficking of women, and drug
trafficking.
Other developments that will challenge the new government
include the emerging norms of humanitarian intervention, the
increasing application of universal jurisdiction, and the
introduction of preemptive measures by powerful states. The new
government should adopt a clear and firm position concerning
these matters.
Regarding instruments of managing intermeshed issues, there
are various vehicles of diplomacy, which have long been dear to
Indonesia's heart. Historically speaking, in addition to the UN,
the Non-Aligned Movement and ASEAN are among prominent forums to
which Indonesia attaches great importance. Based on non-exclusive
national interests, the new government should initiate measures
to empower these forums. As far as ASEAN is concerned, the new
government must ensure that the process toward ASEAN security,
economy and socio-cultural community continues on the right
track.
Bilateral vehicles are not less important than regional and
multilateral ones. There are countries that could help Indonesia
build its political and economic leverage in world politics. The
new government should frame viable policies toward the United
States vis-a-vis the Middle-East issue, terrorism and ICC; toward
Russia and other Eastern European countries vis-a-vis the
expansion of NATO and EU membership; toward China and Japan;
toward Western European countries vis-a-vis their stern demand
for democratization and human rights protection in Indonesia; and
toward other countries and regions.
We cannot have a business-as-usual government to deal with the
aforementioned intermeshed issues. It is the primary duty of the
next head of state and government to design and plot a clean,
capable, inventive administrative team and structure (government)
that is receptive and responsive to the people's needs at home
and to the dynamics abroad.