Indonesia's infrastructure dream and the search for autonomy

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• Caixia Mao (PhD candidate in Urban Planning at Columbia University)
• Friday 23 May 2025, 15:30-17:00
• Small Lecture Theatre, Department of Geography.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Dr Laszlo Cseke.

The presentation traces the meaning of infrastructure in Indonesian context since post-independence until Jokowi administration. Particularly, it focuses on two aspects. First, it analyzes how the symbolic meaning of infrastructure changes over time, from Sukarno’s search of national identity awakening, Suharto’s governing of fear and economic stability, post-New Order’s private-sector led infrastructure development, and Jokowi’s infrastructure ambition to promote economic growth through engaging state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In parallel, it analyzes Indonesia’s dependence on multilateral and bilateral donors’ financial and technological support in infrastructure development and Indonesia’s continuous search for autonomy. It examines how Indonesia mobilizes donor competition especially between China and Japan as a mechanism to enhance its agency when engaging with foreign capital and technologies. At the end of the presentation, I would like to explore how to conceptualize this chapter from the aspects of dependency, agency and (non)alignment etc.

This talk is part of the Infrastructural Geographies - Department of Geography series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• AUB_Cambridge Seminars
• Department of Geography
• Infrastructural Geographies - Department of Geography
• Small Lecture Theatre, Department of Geography

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