Outsiders see arak consumption as a highly dangerous activity, but arak plays an important role in Balinese society

A new publication tells the story of the first graduates of the joint Indonesian Armed Forces Military Academy

Editor’s note: For Indonesia-watchers the activities of the military and its leaders remain largely opaque and perhaps even menacing. In recent years the steady stream of memoirs and biographies by and about military leaders has, in some cases, assuaged some of this mystery and in others, added to the intrigue. As the public and judicial gaze has increasingly turned to the actions of military leaders with connections to the New Order, the memoir has been engaged by some as a form of testimony in an effort to ‘clear their name’. Whatever the motivation, with each new addition to this genre, we are offered new insights into the fractious and often treacherous ‘interior’ world of the Indonesian Armed Forces. Suparman holds the line but reveals some new insights into the transition of power after the fall of the New Order

The second round of direct elections for governors and district heads shows that democratisation is allowing powerful families to entrench themselves in local politics

In West Papua province’s Raja Ampat islands, a local fisheries conservation initiative is setting a global standard

Panas dalam can kill, but it can also be cured by a phone call

Visitors to Semarang’s Lawang Sewu find competing narratives of history, memory and popular culture

Forest conversion in Kalimantan is a local, national and global concern

A new book opens up debate about the power of the journalist and media organisations reporting conflict in Indonesia

Tickamyer and Kusujiarti’s new book is essential reading

This Indian film’s popularity reveals a popular critique of the US

Then, as today, volunteers were vital for Inside Indonesia's survival and success

Co-founder Pat Walsh reveals how the magazine grew and thrived in the 1980s and 1990s

Papua’s rural lowlands are being transformed by an encroaching global economy, but what happens to the people there is an open question

Indonesia’s parliament is cracking down on sorcery

The demand for sustainable timber is colliding with the needs of Central Java farmers

Recent ground-breaking publications, an internationally award-winning film and a major conference are opening up new truths about Indonesia’s past

Jusuf Wanandi’s memoir allows glimpses into the mindset of Suharto-era officialdom

Joshua Oppenheimer’s groundbreaking new film raises disturbing questions about why perpetrators of the 1965-66 mass killings still enjoy impunity for their actions