Instrumentalizing Pressures, Reinventing Mission: Indonesian Navy Battles for Turf in the Age of Reformasi

Abstract

Scholarship about the Indonesian military has examined the development of military reforms aimed at democratizing civil-military relations, but the discourse almost exclusively focuses on the role of the army. While this focus is understandable, given the institutional importance of the army, reform pressures have also affected the navy and air force. Honna examines how the navy has adapted to conditions following the collapse of Suharto’s New Order regime. The essay clarifies how the navy attempts to mobilize international pressures, global norms, and regional standards, and transform them into a breakthrough strategy to protect its vested institutional interests.