Indonesia’s Maritime Policy from Independence to 2019: Political Culture and Maritime Geography

Alverdian explores how a distinct national character of maritime governance has influenced the nature of Indonesia’s aspiration to go beyond archipelagic towards a maritime nation, through focusing on the intersection between the nation’s political culture, historical changes and geopolitical contexts, which gave rise to the primacy of the theme of unity in the nation’s discourse.

The main theme of this research is the three-pillar framework of the Tanah-Air concept, which includes the political culture of persatuan nasional (national unity), the strategic culture of cakra manggilingan (turning of the times from dark to golden periods), and the geopolitical context of posisi silang dunia (world crossroad position). The findings of this publication indicate the dominant influence of Javanese political culture, philosophy, values, and traditions on the distinct character of Indonesia’s maritime orientation. Specifically, Javanese political philosophy and traditions within each pillar of Tanah-Air have influenced continuity rather than change in the evolution of Indonesia’s maritime policy. This book helps readers understand how the defining theme of unity in national political culture has shaped the evolution of Indonesia’s maritime policy from 1945 to 2019. It illustrates how the continuous influence of the theme of national unity as devised by the political elites through history has addressed the realities of the archipelago’s geography, and it is significant from both an academic and practical policy perspective.

A book designed for academics and the general public interested in gaining greater insight and knowledge on Indonesia’s maritime policy and maritime nation aspirations.

Indra Alverdian is a lecturer and researcher at the International Relations Study Program at President University in Indonesia. Currently, he teaches sea power and maritime affairs at the University and Ocean Governance in Global Politics. He received his PhD on Maritime Policy and Law from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong in Australia. His research interests include maritime politics, maritime policy, maritime security. Dr. Alverdian is also a 2023-2024 Non-Resident WSD Handa Research Fellow at US Pacific Forum and 2019 Visiting Research Fellow at Abo Akademi University Sea Program in Turku. His most recent publications include; ’Maritime Security Cooperation between India and Indonesia: Imperatives, Status and Prospects’ published in 2021 by the India Quarterly and Prospects for Multi-level Governance of Maritime Security in the Sulu-Celebes Sea: Lessons from the Baltic Sea Region’, published by Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs.