A Civil (Law) Path to Regional Peace
| Author | Pranoto Iskandar |
| Position | Editorial Board, The Institute for Migrant Rights |
| Pages | 467-469 |
e Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law
ISSN: 2338-7602; E-ISSN: 2338-770X
http://www.ijil.org
© 2021 e Institute for Migrant Rights Press
A Civil (lAw) PAth to RegionAl
PeACe
Pranoto Iskandar
Editorial Board, e Institute for Migrant Rights
It is one of the tritest things to say that Indonesia is living in an age of
ever-present precarious geopolitics. One of the reasons is the increas-
ing antagonism between the United States and its allies representing
the old guard preserving the capitalistic-liberal order and China and its
ilk that were in cahoots over resuscitating the long shunned etatism as
the guiding principle in international relations.
As human history has conrmed, whenever new contenders for
global dominance emerge, it is very likely that war will ensue. By
recognizing what is known as “the ucydides trap,” it is imperative for
Indonesia to creatively seek out regional peace in every possible way as
the global order bifurcates. In response, this is a Promethean thought
that might be worth pondering.
First, Indonesia must act in unity with other like-minded
neighboring nations to storm out of the ucydides trap. Being up
against the wall, many, if not all, Indonesia’s neighboring nations, who
are also members of a talking shop called the Association Southeast
Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) seem to have recognized the necessity of
joint eort. Whether they recognize it wholeheartedly or not, the fact
that they have come to a similar conclusion to unify, should suce
in suggesting that they recognize there is a chance to get out of being
caught in the crossre.
Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear that the emerging “we’re in
this together” sense has been materialized in steering the region’s
dealing with others. Despite the recent adoption of ASEAN Charter,
the “we’re in this together” sense in reality is still inexplicit at best and
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