ABSTRACT
As recounted in the last chapter, the haze regime has emerged as a result of a complex rationale among ASEAN members during the economic crisis of 1997 – an exogenous shock that altered the perception of environmental security and opened up a political space for non-state actors to mobilize at Indonesia’s domestic level. Contextual variables at both international and domestic levels remain crucial throughout the process of regime development, interacting with the regime and determining the regime’s effectiveness as well as strength. Domestically, these contextual variables include: political structure, institutions and national development policies; while internationally, they include the global market of forest-related products and the diffusion of highly politicized environmental norms through international and local agents. For the purpose of this book, this chapter starts with the political economy of the Indonesian forest.
