Emirza Adi Syailendra is a Associate Research Fellow at the Indonesia Programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His research covers the issues of the nexus of domestic politics and foreign policy (focusing on Indonesia and China), civil – military relations in Indonesia, strategic culture of the Indonesian military, and democracy and current affairs in Indonesia. Recent and forthcoming refereed publications include articles in Asian Security and INDONESIA (Cornell University’s Southeast Asia Program). His public affairs commentaries have appeared in many international outlets including Foreign Affairs, China People’s Daily, the Diplomat, Inside Indonesia, and the RSIS Commentary series. He obtained his Master Degree in Strategic Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU in 2014. He was studying fulltime under the Research Analyst Award from RSIS, while working as a programme associate for two years (2012-2014).
He is currently working on various projects related to Indonesia’s strategic culture with the aim of examining the impact of the memory of the early formation of Indonesia as a state with regards to force and diplomacy in the post-Suharto era. This research project aims to study Indonesia’s approach to maintaining its sovereignty and national security. It is interested primarily in understanding Indonesia’s national style or variance of strategy in managing its forces to prepare for conflict and to anticipate future threats. That being said, this project seeks to explain how policymakers in Indonesia appreciate the security environment, and prescribe the most effective policy remedies to specific threats. This project also places great interest in capturing the diversity of views among different security agencies in Indonesia, particularly the Indonesian army, navy, air force, and police. It also aims to capture the interplay of inter-service cooperation and competition in post-Reformasi Indonesia.
