9:30-11:00am WIB // 12:30-2:00pm AEST

Join in-person: McDonald Room, Menzies library, ANU

Join online: bit.ly/indonesia-study-group-2024

About the seminar

A global boom in energy transition minerals (ETMs), such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium is underway, driven by appealing policy initiatives by advanced industrialised countries to produce greener technologies, especially battery, electric vehicles (EVs) and AI infrastructure. Indonesia as the largest nickel producer in the world has sought to plug into this boom through an integrated EV manufacturing industry. Central is the resurgence of industrial policies, including downstreaming (the transformation of minerals into refined products including battery and solar panel) and critical mineral export bans, that are dubbed a solution to sustain economic growth, achieve net-zero emissions target, and harness mineral wealth long exploited by foreign multinationals. Combined, these policies have converged with the ideas of green developmentalism, which understand that the condition of environmental crisis can only be overcome through the adoption of state-led national development strategies. This study seeks to unpack actors, strategies, and coalitions that underpin these green developmentalist strategies. It found that two key dynamics have been shaping the trajectory of green developmentalism in the country. First, shifting modes of social relations of production through which extractive conglomerates and key actors are incorporated into new green coalitions harnessing state-imposed downstreaming agenda. Second, the emergence of selective de-risking strategy by the Indonesian state to protect coalitions around transitional regime from financial, geopolitical, and regulatory risks.

About the speaker

Trissia Wijaya is a Senior Research Fellow at Asia-Japan Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, Japan and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Indo-Pacific Research Centre, Murdoch University, Australia. She has PhD in Politics from Murdoch University and studies the political economy of energy transitions, infrastructure financing, and China-Indonesia relations. Her works have been published in New Political Economy, Environmental Politics, Journal of Contemporary Asia, The Pacific Review, the Asia Pacific Journal, and International Affairs. She will be visiting the ANU Indonesia Project in September 2024 as a Visiting Fellow.

Image: Trissia Wijaya / Mandiodo nickel mining site in Southeast Sulawesi