Abstract

This presentation examines the rise of citizen protection as a politically salient issue in Indonesia’s reform era and analyses the policies the government has adopted in response. Most Indonesian citizens living abroad are migrant workers, therefore this analysis focuses on overseas labourers, particularly those working in Malaysia – traditionally the largest destination for Indonesian migrants.

The issue of migrant workers is not new. Indonesia has long been one of world’s top labour exporters. During Suharto’s New Order regime, however, it focused on expanding the number of migrant workers sent abroad – an interest fully consistent with the regime’s interest in economic development. Only after Indonesia’s transition to democracy enabled civil society activists to publicize the grievances of migrant workers in the country’s newly free press, create NGOs to rally public opinion behind the cause of migrant rights, and lobby parliament and government officials to protect migrant workers has the issue of citizen protection become politically salient in Indonesian domestic politics and foreign policy.

This presentation analyses the rise of the citizen protection issue in post-Suharto Indonesia, traces how the migrant worker issue has impacted Indonesia’s relations with Malaysia over time and examines the policies that Indonesia has adopted to protect its citizens abroad.

About the Speaker

Ann Marie Murphy is Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, Senior Research Fellow, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University, and a 2025-2026 ASEAN Research Program Fulbright Scholar.  Her research focuses on Southeast Asian international politics and political change.  Dr. Murphy’s most recent books include an edited volume, Southeast Asia Views the United States: Perceptions, Policies and Prospects (2025) and Non-Traditional Security Issues in Southeast Asia: The Transnational Dimension, (2018), co-authored with Amy Freedman.

Dr. Murphy’s articles have appeared in journals such as Asian Security, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Orbis, Asia Policy, World Politics Review and PS: Political Science & Politics.  She serves on the editorial board of Asia Policy, the board of directors of the Center for Khmer Studies and is a cofounder of the New York Southeast Asia Network, a Luce Foundation-funded initiative to promote Southeast Asian studies in the United States. She earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University.