Why Indonesia punches below its weight in global affairs
Joko Widodo, the president, views national interest in narrow economic terms
For most of his eight years in power, Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, has evinced next to no interest in foreign affairs. Mention the geopolitics of the region in which Indonesia sits, and the president’s knee starts to bounce impatiently up and down while his eyes dart from left to right like a schoolchild desperate to escape detention. Bring the topic back to building ports and bridges, and you have his eager attention. So what to make of a recent burst of diplomacy, and especially of an unusual and high-profile visit as a peacemaker to the capitals of both Ukraine and Russia?
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “One-track mind”
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