Indonesian foreign policy elites’ consensus to Sidestep ASEAN Haze Cooperation in 2015

Abstract

Indonesia was expected to cooperate regionally based on the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) in response to the 2015 Southeast Asian haze that affected the Southeast Asian region. Instead, Indonesia opted to sidestep ASEAN haze cooperation. Using the elite consensus concept by Randall Schweller, the writer finds Indonesia’s foreign policy elites formed a consensus to underbalance or underreact to the haze and forest fires threat to protect its national political and economic interests. Furthermore, the haze and forest fires were prolonged and had severe economic and health impacts on Indonesia and the region as a result. The findings support the neoclassical realism theory wherein, states deviate from behaviour expected by international pressures due to unit-level factors, such as the elites’ perception and domestic politics. It contributes to neoclassical realism by adding that other than elite dissensus, elite consensus can also lead to underbalancing. It can be inferred from these findings that President Joko Widodo and the other ministers colluded during the foreign policymaking process to ensure that the chosen policy protects their shared interests in developing the palm oil industry with minimal international scrutiny into the country’s environmental practices.