18 April 2019
- RSIS
- Publication
- External Publications
- Picking up Where We Left Off: The Indonesian Military and Prospects for Reviving Security Sector Reform
Picking up Where We Left Off: The Indonesian Military and Prospects for Reviving Security Sector Reform
Indonesia’s security sector reform (SSR) effort has produced some fruitful outcomes, namely the abolishment of the Indonesian military’s direct participation in politics, separation of the police force from the armed forces and the revocation of the dual-function doctrine, to name a few. Yet, since the ratification of Law on Indonesian Military (TNI) in 2004, additional efforts of SSR have been thrown into the backburner. Since 2004, attempts to professionalise the military have been focusing on arms modernisation and improvement of military personnel’s welfare – such as increased training and educational opportunities, as well as housing allocation for military personnel – instead of addressing several unfinished reform agendas, namely the subordination of the TNI under the Ministry of Defence, territorial command reform and military secondment to non-military affairs/posts, among others. This article attempts to analyse how western-developed SSR policy initiatives were introduced in Indonesia and how the SSR agendas were eventually neglected. Finally, this article will reflect on the lessons learned from the introduction of SSR concept in Indonesia to understand its trajectory.
Indonesia’s security sector reform (SSR) effort has produced some fruitful outcomes, namely the abolishment of the Indonesian military’s direct participation in politics, separation of the police force from the armed forces and the revocation of the dual-function doctrine, to name a few. Yet, since the ratification of Law on Indonesian Military (TNI) in 2004, additional efforts of SSR have been thrown into the backburner. Since 2004, attempts to professionalise the military have been focusing on arms modernisation and improvement of military personnel’s welfare – such as increased training and educational opportunities, as well as housing allocation for military personnel – instead of addressing several unfinished reform agendas, namely the subordination of the TNI under the Ministry of Defence, territorial command reform and military secondment to non-military affairs/posts, among others. This article attempts to analyse how western-developed SSR policy initiatives were introduced in Indonesia and how the SSR agendas were eventually neglected. Finally, this article will reflect on the lessons learned from the introduction of SSR concept in Indonesia to understand its trajectory.
