The personal network of Abu Gar, one man involved in last January's terrorist attack in Jakarta, shows how the communal conflicts in Ambon and Poso continue to haunt Indonesia. This latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), traces the violent trajectory of one man, Nazaruddin Mochtar alias Abu Gar, from his...

Introduction The Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) in 2016 may intensify pressure for a broader remit in internal security affairs as its warm relationship with President Jokowi deepens and its credibility with the public soars. Several factors continue to drive the push for power: conviction that the country is facing many dangers that only...

Overview This report looks at the Jakarta attack on 14 January 2016 in the context of rivalry among Indonesian ISIS leaders in Syria and different pro-ISIS groups in Indonesia. The report examines how these rivalries emerged. The Jakarta attack appears to have been carried out by members of a group known as Partisans of the...

Indonesian extremists have a long history of online activism, but links to the Islamic State (still better known in Indonesia by its former acronym ISIS) have raised questions about whether social media usage is significantly changing patterns of radicalisation and recruitment. The answer seems to be a qualified no, but ISIS propaganda seems nevertheless to...

Introduction Judicial reform in Timor-Leste is at a crossroads, and the path taken will determine whether one of the world’s youngest countries can develop an independent, accountable and competent judiciary. The choices it now faces were highlighted by the government’s sudden expulsion of international judges in October 2014 that some saw as political intervention and...