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.