Indonesia, the West and international politics. - Deutscher Bildungsserver

Nguitragool, Paruedee

Indonesia, the West and international politics.

A survey of Indonesian student perceptions of self and others in international relation.

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"Images and perceptions have long been topics of inquiry in social science and humanities, including International Relations (IR). As an established Political Science sub-discipline, IR has played an important role in the construction of images and perceptions through the (re)production of knowledge, which influences decision-making of governmental and private agencies. Directly exposed to knowledge of the discipline are IR students, who are trained to serve governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As part of a broader investigation of the concepts of the West in Asia,1 this study examines IR students' perceptions through a self-completion questionnaire survey. Indonesia is chosen as country case study due to its increasing international role and status as Southeast Asia's largest and most populous country. In addition to conventional IR topics, such as security threat, identity and foreign policy, this study is also interested in the perceptions of Indonesia's relations with other countries, and more importantly with the West, which has been an important element in the country's domestic debates and foreign policy in the past decades. The results of this study provide important pieces of information for further qualitative examination of the construction of the West. As reflections of individual actors' subjectivities, they demonstrate contemporary divergent views on Indonesia's self-perception, as well as its external relations, diplomacy and foreign policy." [Abstract: Site editor's information].