Yogyakarta, November 15th 2021─Indonesia International Relations Association (AIHII) 12th National Convention that raised the theme of “Mainstreaming the Global South: Reorienting Indonesia’s International Relations Studies” was held online by the International Relations Department of Fisipol UGM. The event was held from 15th to 16th November 2021 through Zoom meeting and was attended by lecturers and academicians of International Relations studies from all across Indonesia.The head of the AIHII National Convention 2021, Muhammad Rum, called for the solidarity of south countries and said that emancipation should be the aim of international relations studies reorientation. Rum also hoped that the knowledge production based on the perspective of countries in the south can enrich the span of our knowledge on international relations.
“The international relations studies that we are developing should be based on the aspiration of creating justice in the international political system, empowering the agencies in developing countries and working towards a shared vision of welfare,” Rum said in his opening speech.
On the first day, there was a national seminar with speakers such as Mohtar Mas’oed from Gadjah Mada University, Tirta Nugraha Mursitama from Bina Nusantara University, and Melyana Ratana Pugu from Cendrawasih University. Mohtar talked about the popularity of the global south in the international discourse. The term global south refers to ex-colonized countries located south from the colonial countries. Mohtar explained the three definitions of the global south.
“First, it refers to a region. Second, it refers to a movement. Third, it refers to the fight against neo-liberal capitalism,” Mohtar said.
Tirta then reflects the research and publications that IR academicians have done so far. According to the dataset from the last 20 years, there are seven IR journals in Indonesia which are published in SINTA 2 with more than 1000 articles inside it. Tirta said that the potential of IR research in the future is related to the theme of security, military, and governance.
Meanwhile, Melyana raised the issue of Papua and international support on intermestic political analysis in the frame of the global south. Melyana talked about the background of the Papua condition, mainly through the lens of poverty, infrastructure, health, education, and economy. According to her, domestic stability, including that of Papua, will be maintained if there are no military operations or the likes.
“The citizens will never win against the nation. On that note, citizens need to be protected because citizens are not oppositions and enemies,” she said.
After the national seminar ended, the event was followed by a socialization from AIHII epistemic communities and a panel discussion. On the second day, to end the AIHII 2021 National Convention, three commission hearings and a plenary session was held.