The turn of the century and the crossroads of reformasi presents a timely juncture for examining Indonesia's political, economic, and social history--both to evaluate current events and to chart the country's future course. Providing an up-to-date overview, this volume explores events, processes, and themes in contemporary Indonesia--including the evolution of political institutions and democracy, economic development and political economy, religious and social movements, political ideology, and the role of the armed forces. By holding a mirror to historical events, the authors add a rich dimension to our understanding of Indonesia and its problems, free from the exigencies of the present and the prejudices of the past.

This volume is based on "Indonesia Update 1994", the latest in the series of anual conferences on Indonesia held at the Australian National University. It presents overviews of economic and political developments, together with a collection of papers on the role of the finance sector.Indonesia Assesment 1994 contains the Keynote Address to the conference by Professor Dr Ali Wardhana, Special Adviser to the President, former Minister of Finance, and former Coordinating Minister for Economics, Finance and Industry. Three present or former directors of the central bank joint Professor Wardhana to contribute wide-ranging discussions of the process of financial policy reform as seen from the inside. They are joined by a range of other contributors drawn mainly from academic circle in Indonesia, Australia and elsewhere, and some from the private sector.Indonesia Assesment 1994 provides the most complete available coverage of the current state of the financial sector in Indonesia and the policies which affect it. This volume will be an invaluable reference for policy-makers, academics, and all those interested in the finance sector and in economic and political developments in Indonesia. The editor is a Fellow at the ANU's Indonesia Project, with many years of research and consulting experience in the Indonesian financial system.

This paper presents key findings of the Financial Sector Assessment Program for Indonesia. The program covers Bank Indonesia’s real-time gross settlement (BI-RTGS) system’s observance of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) core principles for systemically important payment systems (SIPS). The assessment reveals that the legal foundation for payment systems in Indonesia is generally sound with explicit provisions for the central bank’s involvement in payment systems. The BI-RTGS generally functions well and is recognized as the only SIPS in Indonesia.

Indonesia enters the new millennium at a time of transition. It has experienced several crises - in particular the economic crisis of 1997-98, a severe intensification of its environmental degradation, and more recently the East Timor crisis, the ongoing Aceh demand for independence, the change of government from the autocratic Soeharto regime to one democratically elected and under the leadership of President Abdurrahman Wahid, and the outbreak of a number of violent communal conflicts. These crises were separate but have interlinked social and political dynamics. This major volume is the first wide-ranging analysis of recent developments. It analyses the social and political dimensions of reformation: poverty and income, environment and livelihood, civil society and legal institutions, and Islam and politics. Contributors include Indonesian and Australian scholars from a range of social science disciplines.

This 2014 Article IV Consultation highlights that sound macroeconomic management and exchange rate flexibility have bolstered policy credibility and external resiliency in Indonesia over the past 18 months. In the face of Federal Reserve tapering and headwinds posed by slumping commodity prices, policy and reserve buffers have been strengthened through a clearer policy framework and better policy coordination. Notwithstanding commodity sector developments and global risk factors, the near-term outlook is broadly positive. Looking ahead, the main challenge for Indonesia is to chart a course to higher, more inclusive growth, while preserving macrofinancial stability and further strengthening the external position.

Based on the 2006 Indonesia Update Conference held at the Australian National University, 2006.