The people of Indonesia & their culture, politics, economy and environment - Inside Indonesia: The peoples and cultures of Indonesia

Economic Policy

Islam-inspired renewable energy

A collaboration between a teacher and farmers in Central Java is unlocking the potential of an indigenous biofuel source

Transport policy in gridlock

Attractive public transport and well-considered traffic policies are what Jakarta needs

Distance matters: social housing for the poor

For Jakarta’s most vulnerable, vertical social housing creates more problems than it solves

Mining – who benefits?

Two carts rest on a mining site path. The photo is taken at an angle where the path appears to be going down from left to right.

Mining law changes in decentralising Indonesia raises new challenges and opportunities for local communities

The life and death of Indonesia’s mineral export ban

President Joko Widodo speaks at a podium, with a red banner as a backdrop.

The Jokowi government’s policy shift contributes to pervasive regulatory ambiguity in Indonesia’s mining sector

Stories from Sulawesi

An elderly woman stands in a grass field in a rural dwelling, looking to the side.

The 2009 mining law and the community benefit in Sulawesi

Resource nationalism as imperialism

A worker at a mining site points to the low-hanging clouds.

Foreign investment in large-scale mining has encountered serious obstacles

Has resource extraction reduced poverty?

A child worker pushes a wheelbarrow of harvest along in an oil palm plantation.

The benefits of more concentrated natural resources are less likely to be spread

Mining and equitable development

A car drives along a concrete road among tall crop fields.

Mining dominates East Luwu GDP but development of agriculture underpins equitable development

Mining the land, mining people

A mining base, with a pipe running across the foreground and some wooden structures.

Irrespective of location or commodity, peasants now compete with multinational mining companies on the mineral-rich tracts of Indonesia

Old and poor

Indonesia’s welfare schemes are failing to support older citizens

Petrol subsidy cuts: Taming a tricky beast

Petrol subsidies have gone, but at what cost to Indonesia’s poor?

A development policy agenda for a new administration

Indonesia's economic and political transformation has been remarkable, now the challenge is to deliver rapid, broad-based improvements in living standards

Revolutionising retail

In Jakarta, 7-Eleven found a loophole that allowed it to break into small-format retailing, transforming itself and contributing to a revolution in Indonesian retail in the process

Review: Power politics

Jeffrey Winters’ Oligarchy is an epic work of comparative political insight but has little that is new to add to the study of Indonesia’s politics

The energy challenge

Indonesia is rich in renewable energy but government policies foster reliance on fossil fuels

Reaching for the sky?

Indonesia has set ambitious emissions targets, but meeting them will require hard work

Snatching victory

When Indonesia’ s National Police took on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over the Bank Century case, the KPK won

Papua road map

Conflict resolution should move from a security to a justice approach

Policy drift

Ten years after Suharto, the economy is not recovering fast enough

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Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar.