Indonesia, Islam and foreign policy : analyzing the influence of islamic groups in the cases of Rohingya and Uighur

Abstract

As a country with the biggest Muslim population, it is not surprising if Islamic group influences the formulation of state policy, be it domestic or foreign. Hence, this research would like to answer the question of ‘‘to what extent do Indonesian Islamic groups influence the formulation of Indonesian foreign policy on the Rohingya crisis and Uighur persecution, during the administration of Joko Widodo (2014 - 2019).’ Using the case study method, this research will analyze the responses of three Islamic groups: Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah dan Front Pembela Islam, to the two illustrative cases and comparing it with the Indonesian foreign policy. The concepts of foreign policy, interest groups’ influence towards foreign policy and two-level game from Robert Putnam will be used for the analysis. Based on the analysis, it was found that the influence of Islamic groups is different and should be judged case-by-case. This is due to the fact that Indonesian foreign policy is dependent to the regime’s leader’s vision; the Islamic groups have different influence it has towards the domestic politics; and they have different approaches in influencing policies.