Richard Robison

In a recent survey conducted by the respected Indonesian Journal, Tempo, Indonesian respondents cited uncertainties regarding security in everyday life as their major concern, ahead of worries about terrorism. An important part of this concern is the growing influence of infoecurity groups (ISGs) and various forms of militia operating at the margins of rule of law. While such organisations had been an important part of the former Soeharto regime, one key question is how they have survived and flourished despite the ending of authoritarian rule and the rise of democracy. This policy brief will examine the various policy and governance programmes introduced to deal with the issue and assess their relative effectiveness. It will provide recommendations for future policy design.

This study has involved targeted field work in Indonesia during 2007 but also draws on the work of several larger and ongoing research projects dealing with informal security groups and militia in Indonesia (Ian Wilson), policing and police reform in Indonesia (Adrianus Meliala) and governance, politics and markets (Richard Robison). Two workshops were held in Jakarta in November 2007 where preliminary findings were presented. The first, held at the University of Indonesia attracted a largely academic audience and involved discussion of broader aspects of political and governance issues. The second, held at the College of Police Science (PTIK) drew an audience that included junior and senior police officers and representatives of private security companies and was largely focused on the more policy-oriented aspects of the problem. The study has received widespread attention in the Jakarta media where several reports and interviews have been published in leading newspapers such as Kompas, Republika, Koran Tempo and Media Indonesia. An executive summary of the project was presented at the AIGRP Forum in Jakarta on 3 December 2007.