The Impact of Democratisation on Indonesia's Foreign Policy Author Nabbs-Keller, Greta Published 2014 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School Griffith Business School DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/2823 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366662 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au GRIFFITH BUSINESS SCHOOL Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By GRETA NABBS-KELLER October 2013 The Impact of Democratisation on Indonesia's Foreign Policy Greta Nabbs-Keller B.A., Dip.Ed., M.A. School of Government and International Relations Griffith Business School Griffith University This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. October 2013 Abstract How democratisation affects a state's foreign policy is a relatively neglected problem in International Relations. In Indonesia's case, there is a limited, but growing, body of literature examining the country's foreign policy in the post- authoritarian context. Yet this scholarship has tended to focus on the role of Indonesia's legislature and civil society organisations as newly-empowered foreign policy actors. Scholars of Southeast Asian politics, meanwhile, have concentrated on the effects of Indonesia's democratisation on regional integration and, in particular, on ASEAN cohesion and its traditional sovereignty-based norms. For the most part, the literature has completely ignored the effects of democratisation on Indonesia's foreign ministry – the principal institutional actor responsible for foreign policy formulation and conduct of Indonesia's diplomacy. Moreover, the effect of Indonesia's democratic transition on key bilateral relationships has received sparse treatment in the literature. This thesis aims to fill the gap in the literature by analysing the impact of democratisation on Indonesia's foreign ministry, and on Indonesia's approach to key bilateral and multilateral relationships in the Asia-Pacific – China, ASEAN and Australia respectively. This thesis argues that the domestic context in which Indonesia's foreign policy is framed has been transformed since reformasi. A conscious attempt has been made by policy-makers to internalise democratic values, such as good governance and human rights, into the ideational basis of Indonesia's foreign policy. Second, Indonesia's adoption of a democratic foreign policy discourse has served key functions in boosting the legitimacy of popularly-elected governments, repairing Indonesia's tarnished international image and augmenting more enduring foreign policy objectives based on regional leadership, strategic autonomy, and sovereignty-based concerns. In other words, key foreign policy-makers were motivated both by a genuine commitment to democratic values and an intrinsic understanding that the promotion of such values served Indonesia's national interests. In this sense, democratic values can be understood as an important enabling factor in Indonesia's foreign policy, rather than a fundamental determinant of it. This constitutes a key finding of the research borne out by the four case studies. The case studies demonstrate that the role of Indonesia's foreign ministry is important because it is has transformed itself into an entrepreneur of new ideas and foreign policy practices. Similarly, the changing basis of regime legitimacy has had important implications for Indonesia's bilateral relations with China and Australia, constrained previously by the New Order's authoritarian political structures and ideology. By ending the military's influence over the policy apparatus and breaking the nexus between regime legitimacy and the threat of Chinese-backed subversion, political reform has engendered a high degree of policy consensus on closer relations with Beijing. Indonesia's engagement with ASEAN – the cornerstone of Indonesia's foreign policy – now appears normatively-driven; propelled by Indonesia's desire to fuse its internal reform experience with a regional strategic democratisation agenda. This thesis argues, however, that Indonesia's normative zeal has obscured important continuities in its ASEAN policy. ASEAN remains the principal vehicle for Indonesia's political leadership in Southeast Asia and a vital tool or managing the regional balance of power. Democracy, good governance and human rights were incorporated into a revised concept of regional resilience and thus inextricably linked with Indonesia's own national vitality. With Australia, democratisation has stabilised relations at the government-to- government level, yet made relations increasingly subject to the broader contestation of Indonesia's legislature, media and public opinion. The persistence of negative perceptions at the broader societal level in both states, suggests that a convergence in political systems does not necessarily equate to shared values. Powerful sovereignty-based norms and national vulnerabilities borne out of historical experience continue to shape Indonesia's relationship with Australia. Statement of Originality This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Disclosure The research project was undertaken under human ethical clearance protocol AIS/03/10/HREC. Two publications have been drawn from this research although in different form than what appears in the thesis: 'Reforming Indonesia's Foreign Ministry: Ideas, Organization and Leadership', Contemporary Southeast Asia, 35, no. 1 (2013): 56-82. 'Growing Convergence, Greater Consequence: The Strategic Implications of Closer Indonesia-China Relations', Security Challenges, 7, no. 2 (Spring 2011): 23-41. In addition, aspects of this research have been included on The Interpreter, blog site of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. Acknowledgements This research project would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals and institutional entities. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge Dr Michael Wesley, former Director of Griffith Asia Institute (GAI), for providing me with a generous postgraduate scholarship to undertake this study in 2009. My sincere gratitude to Dr Ian Hall, who remained my supervisor for the duration of this research project despite moving to another university in 2011. I am indebted to Ian for his responsiveness not only on this particular research project, but in relation to two related journal articles and various other pieces of work. My principal supervisor, Professor Andrew O'Neil, provided me with feedback and encouragement over the duration of this research endeavour. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Andrew as incumbent GAI Director for funding part of my fieldwork in Indonesia. This research project is all the better for the areas studies expertise and keen eye for grammatical detail of my associate supervisor, Adjunct Professor Colin Brown. My sincere appreciation to Colin for his friendship and counsel over the past three years. At Griffith Asia Institute I would like to acknowledge the administrative and moral support provided by Meegan Thorley, Kathy Bailey and Natasha Vary. A special thank you to fellow PhD student, Cathy Moloney, who shared this long endeavour with me and provided invaluable assistance with formatting and presentation of the thesis. In Indonesia, I am indebted to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS Jakarta) for the immense support they provided me during three fieldwork trips conducted between 2011 and 2013. I would like to express my special appreciation to the Vice Chair CSIS Foundation, Clara Joewono, whose experience, contacts and support were integral to this research project. Similarly, I would like to acknowledge the intellectual contribution of CSIS Executive Director, Dr Rizal Sukma. I thank Rizal for always finding time for me in a very busy schedule and for sharing his expertise with me. Also at CSIS, I wish to also acknowledge retired Ambassador Wiryono Sastrohandoyo for foreign policy insights gained over decades of experience as an Indonesian diplomat. This research project, moreover, would not have been possible without the assistance of Indonesian diplomat, Dr Pribadi Sutiono. Thank you to Pak Pribadi for his invaluable assistance and friendship during this research project. Thank you also to Dr Rizal Darmaputra, Beni Sukadis and Henwira Halim of the Indonesian Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (Lesperssi) for sharing their expertise on defence and security sector reform issues over many years. To my father, thank you for inspiring in me a deep and enduring interest in Indonesia and for a sense of the compelling historical processes that shaped this region and hence our own nation in the decades after World War II. To my mother, thank you for your eternal love and support. Finally, my sincere gratitude to my husband, Marc Keller, and mother-in-law, Siew Wan Keller, without whose encouragement and extreme forbearance over the past years, this thesis would never have been completed. Table of Contents Abstract 4 Statement of Originality 7 Disclosure 7 Acknowledgements 8 Table of Contents 10 List of Acronyms 13 INTRODUCTION 17 Research Question and Aims 18 Significance of the Research 20 Approach of the Thesis 22 Structure of