Indonesia as a (Possible) Leader in the New Regional Architecture: Future or Illusion?

Abstrak

In the past five years, discussions on the possibility for Indonesia to regain leadership have taken place both at the regional and international arena. As many leaders praised Indonesia for its relatively fast economic rebound and ability to maintain its annual economic growth around 6%, its membership in the prestigious economic grouping G20, its ability to settle internal conflicts (peace settlement with Free Aceh Movement is an imminent example), as well as various initiatives to shaping the new regional architecture have been portrayed by many analysts and policymakers as indicators of Indonesia's rising status as a middle power country. While the path towards becoming a middle power is naturally developed as a country's economic, military and political power increase, the notion of "leadership" needs additional factors. This paper seeks to analyze whether it is possible for Indonesia to become a leader in the region; or, at least, whether it has the potentials to lead. The first section examines how to Indonesian government expressed the idea of leadership. The third section focuses particularly on the level acceptance from different countries, both within the country as well as immediate and far neighboring countries should Indonesia wish to pursue its track to become leader in the region.