Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Eve Warburton, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

Nationalism and foreign economic policy have been closely intertwined in Indonesia. This paper aims to advance our understanding of Indonesian “economic nationalism” by focusing on how national identity shapes the policy preferences of ordinary citizens. Following comparative research on nationalism, we distinguish between ethnic and civic conceptions of national identity, and hypothesise that they affect support for trade and foreign investment in different directions. Analysis of an original survey finds that both conceptions resonate among the Indonesian public, are politically mobilised and indeed affect attitudes toward economic globalisation. While ethnic nationalist respondents are less supportive of trade and foreign investment, civic nationalists are more likely to consider either policy area as crucial for Indonesia’s economic development. These results suggest that the relationship between nationalism and economic policy in Indonesia is more complex than often assumed in existing research.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Diego Fossati is Assistant Professor of Asian and International Studies at City University of Hong Kong. He studies political behaviour, accountability and representation, especially in the context of East and Southeast Asia. His work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals such as World Development, European Journal of Political Research and Review of International Political Economy.

REGISTRATION

Registration is closed, and instructions on how to participate in this webinar has been sent out to registered attendees. Please write to aritm@nus.edu.sg if you would like to attend the webinar.