Talking Indonesia

While the extractive industries sector in Indonesia is particularly well-known for its widespread rent-seeking, opaque licensing rules and assertive resource nationalism, a small but growing number of civil society organizations is trying to alter the sector’s reputation through initiatives that aim to spread global norms and values such as transparency and accountability in Indonesia’s extractive industries. Who are these groups and how do they operate? How are they linked to broader transnational advocacy networks and how do they interact with government and business actors in Indonesia? Are there noteworthy achievements that can be attributed to these groups? What challenges do they face? To discuss these and other related issues, Talking Indonesia’s new host Dr Dirk Tomsa speaks to International Relations expert Dr Poppy Sulistyaning Winanti, vice dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and currently a visiting scholar at the University of Melbourne.