Yogyakarta, April 24, 2026─The Research Center for Politics and Government (POLGOV) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), in collaboration with PUSAD Paramadina, publisher Marjin Kiri, and the Kurawal Foundation, organized a discussion forum and literature release entitled “The Resurgence of Authoritarianism in Indonesia: A Decade of Jokowi’s Leadership” (Kebangkitan Kembali Otoritarianisme di Indonesia: Dasawarsa Kepemimpinan Jokowi). This political book review agenda was held on Friday (24/4) afternoon in the West Corridor (Selasar Barat) area of FISIPOL UGM.
SDGs 16: Peace Justice and Strong Institutions
Yogyakarta, April 23, 2026 – The Master’s and Doctoral Programs of Public Policy and Management (MKP), FISIPOL UGM, organized a seminar and book discussion entitled “Reviewing the Dynamics of Decentralization in Indonesia and Book Discussion: Theory and Regulation of Regional Autonomy.” This academic forum, which was open to the public, took place in the Auditorium on the 4th Floor of FISIPOL UGM on Thursday (23/4) morning.
Evi Sukmayeti, S.IP., MPA., an MKP doctoral student serving as the moderator, opened the event by highlighting concerns in the field regarding current government decentralization practices. “Practitioners state that what is currently being felt is a transfer of affairs, not authority. So, they are given tasks but not the authority to make decisions. Thus, it seems that what we worry about in the MKP department is that what is happening now is recentralization,” Evi explained.
Yogyakarta, April 23, 2026 – The Masters and Doctoral Programs in Management and Public Policy (DMKP) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, held a seminar titled “Reviewing the Dynamics of Decentralization in Indonesia and a Book Discussion: Theory and Regulation of Regional Autonomy.” The event, open to the public, took place in the 4th Floor Auditorium on Thursday morning (April 23).
This academic forum featured the book’s author, Prof. Dr. Hanif Nurcholis, M.Si., who is also a Professor at Universitas Terbuka. He was also present, along with Yogyakarta Mayor Dr. Hasto Wardoyo and UGM Professor of Public Policy and Management, Prof. Dr. Agus Pramusinto. This discussion delved deeper into the practices of regional government governance and regulations, including leadership mechanisms. Moderated by Evi Sukmayeti, S.IP., MPA, a doctoral student in the MKP program.
Yogyakarta, April 21, 2026—The Chairman of the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI), Dr. (H.C.) Sultan Baktiar Najamudin, emphasized the strategic role of universities in realizing green democracy in Indonesia.
In his opening remarks, the Dean of FISIPOL UGM, Wawan Mas’udi, emphasized the importance of discussing green democracy amid the current challenges posed by climate change. “With climate change, we are facing the challenge of creating a governance system that is aware of global changes that increasingly require green politics, green policies, and in this case, green democracy,” he said.
Yogyakarta, April 21, 2026—The Chairman of the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI), Dr. (H.C.) Sultan Baktiar Najamudin, emphasized the strategic role of universities in realizing green democracy in Indonesia.
In a public lecture at the FISIPOL UGM Auditorium, Najamudin emphasized that the Green Democracy ideas he championed have been systematically outlined in a book entitled “Green Democracy: Ideas for Democratic Innovation in Strengthening the DPD RI Institution, Environmental Conservation, and Improving Human Resources Quality Towards a Golden Indonesia 2045.” According to Najamudin, universities are not merely spectators or critics of policies, but rather the primary drivers of democratic transformation toward an ecologically sustainable system.
Yogyakarta, April 20, 2026─The Visiting Scholar Program at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has reached its conclusion. For nearly a month (March 30 – April 21, 2026), the program held a series of events ranging from a public lecture, a master class titled “Melawat ke Asia” (Visiting Asia), a doctoral student workshop themed “Comparative Southeast Asia”, a methodological workshop on “Doing Field Research in Southeast Asia”, to the concluding seminar titled “Napak Tilas Alm. Ben Anderson di Bangkok” (Retracing the Footsteps of the Late Ben Anderson in Bangkok).
Yogyakarta, April 20, 2026 ─ The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) of UGM, in collaboration with Flinders University, concluded its series of visiting scholar programs on Monday (April 20). As the closing event, FISIPOL UGM held a seminar titled “Retracing the Late Ben Anderson in Bangkok,” presented by Dr. Priyambudi Sulistiyanto and moderated by Muhammad Djindan, S.I.P., M.Sc. Unlike previous Visiting Scholar events, this seminar was attended by faculty members, lecturers, researchers, students, and the general public.
Jakarta, April 17, 2026─Since 2025, the Institute of International Studies (IIS) of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has officially become a member of the International Steering Group for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which is committed to advocating for humanitarian disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, autonomous weapon systems, and other non-humanitarian weapons.

In line with this commitment, UGM’s IIS had the opportunity to attend the “Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and Security Concerns related to Nuclear Weapons” on Friday (April 17) in Jakarta. The conference was organized in collaboration with Indonesia, Austria, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Yogyakarta, April 16, 2026 – The Southeast Asian region continues to be a dynamic and complex area of study for academics. To strengthen the methodology and depth of analysis regarding this region, the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) held a workshop titled “Comparative Southeast Asia” on Thursday, April 16. This event took place in the Dean’s Meeting Room BA 201 and featured Dr. Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer from Flinders University, Australia, as the speaker.
Yogyakarta, April 16, 2026 – The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIPOL) UGM held a workshop titled “Comparative Southeast Asia” on Thursday (April 16). This academic event was part of a series of visiting scholar programs by Dr. Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Flinders University, Australia. The workshop was attended by doctoral students, lecturers, and academics from various institutions.
Dr. Priyambudi’s presence provided a valuable discourse space for participants to deepen their insights into the political, social, and cultural dynamics of the Southeast Asian region through a comparative approach. In his research, he compared three Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Thailand, and Burma (Myanmar). He also shared his field experiences, from the similarities and differences he found during the 1997 political and economic crisis, the dynamics of field research, to his reflections, which are included in the book “Melawai ke Asia.”