ABSTRACT

The interpretation of the ‘bebas dan aktif’ approach by the democratic leadership during the Twenty-First century has produced key foreign policy doctrines and principles of strategic engagement, such as strategic autonomy, Dynamic Equilibrium, ‘navigating in the turbulent ocean’, and ‘Million Friends, Zero Enemies’. Joko Widodo’s ascendancy has seen renewed efforts towards formulating Indonesia’s grand strategy. His doctrine of Indonesia as a Poros Maritim Dunia can be seen as a meticulous exercise in the Twenty-First century to articulate Indonesia’s grand strategic thoughts. Every principal belief of the Indonesian foreign policy has been either discarded, modified or challenged during the Twenty-First century. The Pre-Yudhoyono era leadership can be credited for setting the tone for an emerging Indonesia’s foreign policy reset, which took concrete shape during the Yudhoyono and Widodo eras. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.