Joint group: Nordic Indonesia Studies Network (NISN)

This group is a joint initiative with the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), University of Copenhagen.

The working group is a platform of the Nordic Indonesia Studies Network. The network was founded in 2008 under the auspices of NIAS.

The working group has a website that you can access by following this link. You can also read more about the group on this page. Please find information about:

Aim          
Target group
Background
Objectives
Working group themes
Activities
Estimated duration
Expected outcome
Upcoming events
Previous events

Aim
The aim of the network is to bring together students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in Indonesia and Timor Leste. The network is cross-disciplinary and open to all DDRN members. 

Target group
The target group is students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in Indonesia and Timor Leste.

Background
Nordic Indonesia Studies Network consists of a group of professors, lecturers, PhD candidates, and MA students from the Nordic countries with a common scholarly interest and background in Indonesia. The members all have their various Indonesia-related foci and are trained in fields such as anthropology, international relations, development studies, Southeast Asian studies, and economics.

Objectives
The Network seeks to create a venue for the sharing and debating of Indonesia-related research, contemporary issues and practical experience among Indonesianists from the Nordic countries.
In the long term, the Network will
• Build ties and collaborative networks between scholars, students and practitioners working in the foreign service, the business sector and NGOs
• Disseminate research-based knowledge to the Nordic public about Indonesian culture, politics, business, economy, and society
• Inform the policies of the Nordic governments towards Indonesia in terms of investment, diplomacy and development assistance

Working group themes
The topics researched and worked on by members of the Network and addressed during workshops and seminars are numerous and varied. Thus far the overriding themes have been the transition to democracy since 1998 and the development of Indonesia, the latter of which is also the theme for the 2010 workshop.

Indonesia has long held a special place in debates on development and development policy. International donor agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have advanced Indonesia as an exemplar for other developing nations. Since the late 1960s, Indonesia has followed the advice of these agencies, focusing on agricultural expansion, industrialization, the developmental state and, more recently, good governance and democratic decentralization.

Network members focus on a variety of research topics within development ranging from urban pollution to rural agricultural development, from macro-economic recovery policies to local elections, and from national food security policies to communal conflicts over natural resources. We thus address several of the core focus areas of DDRN.

Activities
One annual workshop.
A handful of seminars during each year.
Smaller study groups within the network.
Provision of a platform of use for practitioners to discuss developments in Indonesia.

Estimated duration
5+ years.

Expected outcome
- One annual workshop with international students and scholars of Indonesia.
- Several smaller seminars each year
- Better collaboration between Nordic-based students and researchers focusing on Indonesia and Timor Leste.
- Intensive researcher training and scholarly update in annual workshop

For further information, please refer to the working group's website: http://norindo.org/

Contact person: Jakob Trane Ibsen (norindostudies@gmail.com).

Upcoming events:
• Second Annual Workshop: Developing Indonesia
Time: April 21-23, 2010
Venue: NIAS, Leifsgade 33, 2300 Kbh. S, Copenhagen
This workshop is sponsored by DDRN.
Please read the workshop description and Call for Papers.

• Leiden study trip
Time: March 21-23, 2010
Organisers: Cynthia Chou and Jakob Trane Ibsen

Previous events:
• First Annual Workshop: Ten Years of Democracy in Indonesia (1998-2008)
Time: May 13-15, 2009
Venue: NIAS, Copenhagen
The workshop was held with financial support from DDRN, NIAS, Swedish School of Advanced Asia-Pacific Studies, Graduate School of Anthropology at Århus University, and Graduate School of International Development Studies at Roskilde University.
Download the narrative report.

• Seminar: “The Ideology of Shari'a Implementation in Contemporary Aceh”
Lecture by Associate Professor Michael Feener of National University of Singapore
Time: March 31, 2009
Venue: TORS, University of Copenhagen
Co-organised with TORS, NIAS and Asian Dynamics Initiative

• Seminar: "The Chinese Malay contribution to the Understanding of a National Culture in Indonesia"
Lecture by Dr. Doris Jedamski of Leiden University
Time: August 25, 2009
Venue: NIAS, Copenhagen
Co-organised with NIAS

• Seminar: “Un-finished Nations in Southeast Asia”
Seminar with Max Lane of National University of Singapore and Søren Ivarsson of University of Copenhagen
Time: November 7, 2008
Venue: Centre for International Development Studies, Roskilde University
Co-organised with CIDES and NIAS