Indonesia’s Defence and Security Policy
How Indonesia’s armed forces organise, equip, operate, interact with domestic actors, and engage international partners.
Explore →Dr Evan A. Laksmana
Political scientist and analyst specialising in Southeast Asian strategic policies and defence affairs.
See full biography →Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Southeast Asian Security and Defence and Editor, Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)
Research
Indonesia’s Foreign Policy and Politics
How domestic contestation, foreign-policy institutions, and enduring legacies shape Indonesia’s response to strategic competition and regional order.
Explore →Defence Diplomacy and Security Cooperation
How military engagements, exercises, education, defence-industrial partnerships, and institutions build and sustain security relationships.
Explore →International Security and Regional Strategy
How states navigate strategic competition, security flashpoints, and an Indo-Pacific architecture spanning alliances, partnerships, and defence regionalism.
Explore →Selected Works
Recent Spotlight
14 May 2026 · Research Article
Fighting Lens: Military Doctrine and the Future of Warfare in Asia
International Institute for Strategic Studies
12 March 2026 · Research Article
Simulating Southeast Asia’s Nuclear-security Crisis Responses
International Institute for Strategic Studies
4 March 2026 · Research Article
Building Blocks: Enhancing Southeast Asia’s Crisis-response Architecture
International Institute for Strategic Studies
2026 · Essay
Managing mediocrity: Indonesia’s defence partnership portfolio
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Monographs
Books and dissertation
2020 · Co-authored monograph
75 Tahun TNI: Evolusi Ekonomi Pertahanan, Operasi, dan Organisasi Militer Indonesia: 1945–2020
Traces the transformation of the Indonesian Armed Forces from 1945 to 2020 across the defence economy, military operations, and personnel and organisational infrastructure.
2022 · Edited volume
Hatta and Indonesia’s Independent and Active Foreign Policy: Retrospect and Prospect
Revisits Mohammad Hatta’s independent-and-active principle through Indonesia’s major foreign-policy challenges and its continuing relevance.
2021 · Co-authored monograph
Seeking Strategic Convergence: India, South Korea, and Australia in the Indo-Pacific
Examines strategic common ground between ASEAN and India, South Korea, and Australia in the Indo-Pacific.
2019 · Doctoral dissertation
Imitation Game: Military Institutions and Westernization in Indonesia and Japan
Explains how military institutions adopt foreign ideas through a comparative study of Cold War Indonesia and Meiji Japan.