REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By: Azhari Setiawan, International Relations Postgraduate Student at University of Indonesia

There are several important points on seeing what happened in global politics constellation along 2015. Arab Awakening, Democratization, Greece Economic Crisis, Terrorism, Environmental Issues and also Refugees “Numbers Bombing” in Europe have taken their parts as “turbulence in ocean”. This is the new hard times for the World, and also Indonesia. Our position, geographically is still strategic not only in economic issues but also some other issues such as security, regionalization, and culture. This means that the turbulences of world politics have potential effect for Indonesia. First effect came from Economic Crisis that has taken a part in Indonesia’s first strategic policy. In Jokowi’s one year period as president, inflation climbed in large part because of higher food prices (especially rice), and growth slowed due to declining competitiveness, difficult global conditions, and China’s deceleration, resulting in large layoffs of Indonesian factory workers. But these have been tackled by reshuffling the cabinet and bringing in a new economic team that within the short space of six weeks announced five reform packages designed to improve competitiveness, revive investment, and arrest the growth slowdown.

Vikram Nehru (Senior Associate Asia Program Chair in Southeast Asian Studies-Carnegie Endowment) said that on the positive side, the reforms are expected to streamline import, export, and investment licensing; introduce a new system to fix minimum wages; ensure quicker permits for land use; and improve access to finance for small enterprises and individuals. On the negative side, however, they effectively increase energy subsidies to industry at a time when such subsidies already drain budgetary resources away from higher priority infrastructure and social expenditures. They also leave untouched restrictive labor market regulations and a range of trade barriers that curb imports and exports, distort production incentives, and inhibit the expansion of labor-intensive manufacturing.

After economic crisis potential and US’ over production effect toward Indonesia, second concern came from Middle East Awakening. We all know that Middle East is always complex and complicated. Multidimensional conflicts in Middle East have threatened regional and global security. High rate of violence and Human Rights cases; ISIS survival and its latest attack in Paris last months ago; and lack of social justice in some authoritarian Arab governments have made extremism and radicalism growing time to time. Even the “Global Coalition Against ISIS” still can’t win the battle even though the Coalition has enormous power made of 63 member states. Indonesia and Islam has a connection to the Middle East. Islamic State—which is not Islam and also not a state—is big challenge for Indonesia as the country with the highest number of Muslim citizen to show the world our “moderate Islam” identity as the contribution on fighting against terrorism. Undang-undang Dasar 1945 of Indonesia aver that Indonesia is forbidden to engage with any Defense Pact including the “Islamic Coalition Fighting Against Terrorism” that has been established by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and numbers of islamic countries. But, Indonesia is able to apply soft power-diplomacy to fight against terrorism by constructing the “moderate Islam” model as a role model for other islamic countries.