New Mandala
@newmandala.bsky.social
A forum for anecdote, analysis and new perspectives on Southeast Asia since 2006. Want to contribute? See: https://www.newmandala.org/contributing-to-nm/
NEW 🇮🇩 Too big to fail, and too big to succeed, Jokowi’s new capital city eventually came to be pushed forward by little more than the former president’s need to justify its existence, writes Anders Kirstein Moeller. www.newmandala.org/nusantara-th...
Nusantara: the city that never was - New Mandala
What political project did Jokowi’s new capital embody?
www.newmandala.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
NEW 🇮🇩 Too big to fail, and too big to succeed, Jokowi’s new capital city eventually came to be pushed forward by little more than the former president’s need to justify its existence, writes Anders Kirstein Moeller. www.newmandala.org/nusantara-th...
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NEW 🇵🇭 The delay to the BARMM's landmark parliamentary elections set for October 2025 is the latest in a long line of mishaps and missed opportunities that undermine local confidence in Manila’s commitment to Bangsamoro autonomy. www.newmandala.org/how-bangsamo...
How Bangsamoro’s political transition got stuck - New Mandala
Bad luck and bad judgement are undermining progress in ending the Mindanao conflict for good
www.newmandala.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
NEW 🇵🇭 The delay to the BARMM's landmark parliamentary elections set for October 2025 is the latest in a long line of mishaps and missed opportunities that undermine local confidence in Manila’s commitment to Bangsamoro autonomy. www.newmandala.org/how-bangsamo...
NEW 🇵🇭 The delay to the BARMM's landmark parliamentary elections set for October 2025 is the latest in a long line of mishaps and missed opportunities that undermine local confidence in Manila’s commitment to Bangsamoro autonomy. www.newmandala.org/how-bangsamo...
How Bangsamoro’s political transition got stuck - New Mandala
Bad luck and bad judgement are undermining progress in ending the Mindanao conflict for good
www.newmandala.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
NEW 🇵🇭 The delay to the BARMM's landmark parliamentary elections set for October 2025 is the latest in a long line of mishaps and missed opportunities that undermine local confidence in Manila’s commitment to Bangsamoro autonomy. www.newmandala.org/how-bangsamo...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 Caught between eviction and embrace, residents of Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city from the ground up. Part of a series supported by @anu-asiapacific.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/insurgent-pl...
Insurgent planning versus discretionary urbanism in Jakarta - New Mandala
Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city
www.newmandala.org
September 23, 2025 at 7:01 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 Caught between eviction and embrace, residents of Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city from the ground up. Part of a series supported by @anu-asiapacific.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/insurgent-pl...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 Indonesia’s small but active anarchist community has become the go-to bogeyman for governments seeking to justify crackdowns. The scapegoating of anarchists has meanwhile undermined the unity and political impact of anti-oligarchic protest movements. www.newmandala.org/whos-afraid-...
Who’s afraid of a little anarchy? - New Mandala
On the makings of Indonesia’s new protest scapegoat
www.newmandala.org
September 26, 2025 at 5:42 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 Indonesia’s small but active anarchist community has become the go-to bogeyman for governments seeking to justify crackdowns. The scapegoating of anarchists has meanwhile undermined the unity and political impact of anti-oligarchic protest movements. www.newmandala.org/whos-afraid-...
NEW 🇮🇩 Indonesia’s small but active anarchist community has become the go-to bogeyman for governments seeking to justify crackdowns. The scapegoating of anarchists has meanwhile undermined the unity and political impact of anti-oligarchic protest movements. www.newmandala.org/whos-afraid-...
Who’s afraid of a little anarchy? - New Mandala
On the makings of Indonesia’s new protest scapegoat
www.newmandala.org
September 26, 2025 at 5:42 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 Indonesia’s small but active anarchist community has become the go-to bogeyman for governments seeking to justify crackdowns. The scapegoating of anarchists has meanwhile undermined the unity and political impact of anti-oligarchic protest movements. www.newmandala.org/whos-afraid-...
NEW 🇮🇩 Caught between eviction and embrace, residents of Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city from the ground up. Part of a series supported by @anu-asiapacific.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/insurgent-pl...
Insurgent planning versus discretionary urbanism in Jakarta - New Mandala
Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city
www.newmandala.org
September 23, 2025 at 7:01 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 Caught between eviction and embrace, residents of Jakarta’s informal settlements are finding new ways to assert their rights and reshape their city from the ground up. Part of a series supported by @anu-asiapacific.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/insurgent-pl...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 With the destruction of landmark Dutch-era buildings in August's protests, Indonesians have lost sites where they have for generations re-signified colonial remains into something simultaneously inherited and all their own, writes Noandha Dhegaska. www.newmandala.org/indonesias-h...
Indonesia’s heritage in flames - New Mandala
August’s protests destroyed beloved colonial-era buildings
www.newmandala.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 With the destruction of landmark Dutch-era buildings in August's protests, Indonesians have lost sites where they have for generations re-signified colonial remains into something simultaneously inherited and all their own, writes Noandha Dhegaska. www.newmandala.org/indonesias-h...
NEW 🇮🇩 With the destruction of landmark Dutch-era buildings in August's protests, Indonesians have lost sites where they have for generations re-signified colonial remains into something simultaneously inherited and all their own, writes Noandha Dhegaska. www.newmandala.org/indonesias-h...
Indonesia’s heritage in flames - New Mandala
August’s protests destroyed beloved colonial-era buildings
www.newmandala.org
September 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 With the destruction of landmark Dutch-era buildings in August's protests, Indonesians have lost sites where they have for generations re-signified colonial remains into something simultaneously inherited and all their own, writes Noandha Dhegaska. www.newmandala.org/indonesias-h...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇲🇲 The post-coup conflict has repeatedly confounded bold predictions of both swift regime collapse and decisive opposition victory. For now, the grinding reality points less to liberation than to a bloody stalemate, writes Andrew Selth. www.newmandala.org/myanmar-and-...
Myanmar and the perils of prediction - New Mandala
Sound analysis requires looking the conflict’s grim realities in the face
www.newmandala.org
September 5, 2025 at 12:09 PM
NEW 🇲🇲 The post-coup conflict has repeatedly confounded bold predictions of both swift regime collapse and decisive opposition victory. For now, the grinding reality points less to liberation than to a bloody stalemate, writes Andrew Selth. www.newmandala.org/myanmar-and-...
NEW 🇲🇲 The post-coup conflict has repeatedly confounded bold predictions of both swift regime collapse and decisive opposition victory. For now, the grinding reality points less to liberation than to a bloody stalemate, writes Andrew Selth. www.newmandala.org/myanmar-and-...
Myanmar and the perils of prediction - New Mandala
Sound analysis requires looking the conflict’s grim realities in the face
www.newmandala.org
September 5, 2025 at 12:09 PM
NEW 🇲🇲 The post-coup conflict has repeatedly confounded bold predictions of both swift regime collapse and decisive opposition victory. For now, the grinding reality points less to liberation than to a bloody stalemate, writes Andrew Selth. www.newmandala.org/myanmar-and-...
Reposted by New Mandala
Great piece by Edward Aspinall discussing the ongoing protests in Indonesia (and why they are likely to keep resurfacing).
www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of street protest survives beyond Jokowi
www.newmandala.org
September 3, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Great piece by Edward Aspinall discussing the ongoing protests in Indonesia (and why they are likely to keep resurfacing).
www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on how "August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest in Indonesia in ways that that echo the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s" www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of opposition survives the post-Jokowi politics
www.newmandala.org
September 2, 2025 at 5:10 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on how "August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest in Indonesia in ways that that echo the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s" www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
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"The recent protests can thus be understood as product of a clash between two worlds of Indonesian politics: the world of official representative politics and the subculture of youth protest that rejects it." NB @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on #Indonesia protests: www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of street protest survives beyond Jokowi
www.newmandala.org
September 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
"The recent protests can thus be understood as product of a clash between two worlds of Indonesian politics: the world of official representative politics and the subculture of youth protest that rejects it." NB @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on #Indonesia protests: www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Reposted by New Mandala
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 "What [the protesters] really stand for, above all, is rejection of the entire ruling elite. And the entire ruling elite, more or less, stands united against them." @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on last week's protests and the limits of comparisons with 1998 www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of opposition survives beyond Jokowi
www.newmandala.org
September 2, 2025 at 5:22 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 "What [the protesters] really stand for, above all, is rejection of the entire ruling elite. And the entire ruling elite, more or less, stands united against them." @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on last week's protests and the limits of comparisons with 1998 www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
NEW 🇮🇩 "What [the protesters] really stand for, above all, is rejection of the entire ruling elite. And the entire ruling elite, more or less, stands united against them." @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on last week's protests and the limits of comparisons with 1998 www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of opposition survives beyond Jokowi
www.newmandala.org
September 2, 2025 at 5:22 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 "What [the protesters] really stand for, above all, is rejection of the entire ruling elite. And the entire ruling elite, more or less, stands united against them." @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on last week's protests and the limits of comparisons with 1998 www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
NEW 🇮🇩 @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on how "August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest in Indonesia in ways that that echo the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s" www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Mass protest and the two worlds of Indonesian politics - New Mandala
A subculture of opposition survives the post-Jokowi politics
www.newmandala.org
September 2, 2025 at 5:10 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 @edwardaspinall.bsky.social on how "August’s anti-government protests highlight the growth of a subculture of street protest in Indonesia in ways that that echo the anti-Suharto activism of the 1990s" www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩 "In Surabaya, the ghosts of the Dutch East Indies have not merely lingered; they have been revived through commodification in tourism...a certain narrative is quietly whispered: the colonial past was not only orderly and elegant, but perhaps even desirable" www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
Instagramming colonialism in Surabaya - New Mandala
On what’s lost when the Dutch East Indies is recalled as a time of picturesque sophistication
www.newmandala.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 "In Surabaya, the ghosts of the Dutch East Indies have not merely lingered; they have been revived through commodification in tourism...a certain narrative is quietly whispered: the colonial past was not only orderly and elegant, but perhaps even desirable" www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
Reposted by New Mandala
REVIEW: Brian Curtin reviews "Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970". www.newmandala.org/review-power...
Review: "Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970" - New Mandala
Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970 (Lund Humprhies, 2024, 240 pages) is the latest addition to a narrow but deep bibliography aiming to account ...
www.newmandala.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:18 AM
REVIEW: Brian Curtin reviews "Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970". www.newmandala.org/review-power...
Reposted by New Mandala
Interesting post on @newmandala.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
Instagramming colonialism in Surabaya - New Mandala
On what’s lost when the Dutch East Indies is recalled as a time of picturesque sophistication
www.newmandala.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Interesting post on @newmandala.bsky.social www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
NEW 🇮🇩 "In Surabaya, the ghosts of the Dutch East Indies have not merely lingered; they have been revived through commodification in tourism...a certain narrative is quietly whispered: the colonial past was not only orderly and elegant, but perhaps even desirable" www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
Instagramming colonialism in Surabaya - New Mandala
On what’s lost when the Dutch East Indies is recalled as a time of picturesque sophistication
www.newmandala.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:20 AM
NEW 🇮🇩 "In Surabaya, the ghosts of the Dutch East Indies have not merely lingered; they have been revived through commodification in tourism...a certain narrative is quietly whispered: the colonial past was not only orderly and elegant, but perhaps even desirable" www.newmandala.org/instagrammin...
REVIEW: Brian Curtin reviews "Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970". www.newmandala.org/review-power...
Review: "Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970" - New Mandala
Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970 (Lund Humprhies, 2024, 240 pages) is the latest addition to a narrow but deep bibliography aiming to account ...
www.newmandala.org
August 12, 2025 at 3:18 AM
REVIEW: Brian Curtin reviews "Iola Lenzi’s Power, Politics and the Street: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia after 1970". www.newmandala.org/review-power...
Reposted by New Mandala
NEW 🇮🇩🇯🇵 Right-wingers are scapegoating foreigners as part of their campaign for Japan's upper house elections, creating new anxieties for the local Indonesian community—and distracting political attention from the need for reforms to protect migrant worker rights. www.newmandala.org/japanese-fir...
“Japanese First” politics creates fears for Indonesians - New Mandala
Caught in the middle of a new politicisation of Japan’s migration program
www.newmandala.org
July 18, 2025 at 2:16 AM
NEW 🇮🇩🇯🇵 Right-wingers are scapegoating foreigners as part of their campaign for Japan's upper house elections, creating new anxieties for the local Indonesian community—and distracting political attention from the need for reforms to protect migrant worker rights. www.newmandala.org/japanese-fir...
NEW 🇮🇩🇯🇵 Right-wingers are scapegoating foreigners as part of their campaign for Japan's upper house elections, creating new anxieties for the local Indonesian community—and distracting political attention from the need for reforms to protect migrant worker rights. www.newmandala.org/japanese-fir...
“Japanese First” politics creates fears for Indonesians - New Mandala
Caught in the middle of a new politicisation of Japan’s migration program
www.newmandala.org
July 18, 2025 at 2:16 AM
NEW 🇮🇩🇯🇵 Right-wingers are scapegoating foreigners as part of their campaign for Japan's upper house elections, creating new anxieties for the local Indonesian community—and distracting political attention from the need for reforms to protect migrant worker rights. www.newmandala.org/japanese-fir...