International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Advance Access originally published online on November 6, 2008
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 2009 9(1):55-81; doi:10.1093/irap/lcn026
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This article appears in the following International Relations of the Asia-Pacific issue: SPECIAL ISSUE: Teaching international relations in Southeast Asia [View the issue table of contents]
International relations in Indonesia: historical legacy, political intrusion, and commercialization1
Department of International Relations, University of Parahyangan, Bandung, Indonesia
Email: bobhadi2{at}yahoo.com
This paper is about the development of international relations (IR) as a field of study in Indonesian universities. It argues that IR as a discipline has been encountering a paradox. On the one hand, while the discipline has been increasingly held in high esteem by students, marked by an increasing number of applicants to IR departments across the country; on the other hand, IR scholars show too little commitment to research and publication for the development of the discipline; and if they do publish, the quality of writing is generally poor. This article indicates that the paradox of teaching IR in Indonesia has much to do with historical legacies and political intrusion, as well as an economic environment in which universities are increasingly driven toward commercial activities. All these factors shape the current development of social science in general, and IR in particular.
Received for publication August 28, 2008. Accepted for publication October 7, 2008.