How Indonesia's Resource Nationalism Works: Balancing Political Interests and Technocratic Agendas in a Developmental State

18 July 2024, Version 1
This content is an early or alternative research output and has not been peer-reviewed at the time of posting.

Abstract

Indonesia has implemented resource nationalism policies in its oil, gas, and mining sectors, acquiring natural resource assets from foreign companies and promoting State-Owned Enterprises to manage these assets. However, the application of these policies varies: Chevron lost its asset entirely, Freeport McMoran surrendered majority ownership but retained operational rights, and British Petroleum maintained full ownership. This paper explores the political conditions that allow for these policy variations, positing that they arise from Indonesia’s resource nationalism being intertwined with the country's development strategy. This alignment has enabled technocratic intervention, crafting nationalist policies that also support economic growth. Consequently, technocrats have developed policies that uphold the political agenda of nationalism while ensuring the continued productivity of natural resource assets. This demonstrates the limits of resource nationalism agendas in developing countries and allows for strategic technocratic intervention within the implementation of economic nationalism policies

Keywords

Resources nationalism
technocrats
Indonesia

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