Invite: We are organising a discussion on the protests in Indonesia and Nepal, this monday 15-17 at the University of Amsterdam. Do join!

Nice: Tempo made this video summarizing our book on how cybertroops operate in Indonesia, watch it to get a quick overview! www.instagram.com/reel/DOYLWAZ...

Simply brilliant. Bansky depicting the absurdity of how the justice system in the UK (and elsewhere) treats those protesting against the genocide.

Great piece by Edward Aspinall discussing the ongoing protests in Indonesia (and why they are likely to keep resurfacing). www.newmandala.org/mass-protest...

Wat zit er achter de protesten in Indonesië? Net terug uit Jakarta sprak ik met Edwin Mooibroek over Prabowo’s problemen voor zijn Indonesië podcast. www.indonesienieuws.nl/podcast-5/

Tijdens de allesverwoestende oorlog in Gaza werden meer dan tweehonderd journalisten gedood. Zulke aantallen wijzen op een opzettelijke moordcampagne van het Israëlische leger. Dat inzicht dringt nu ook door tot westerse media.

With the death of an Ojek driver, discontent with Indonesia’s democracy is spreading. Prabowo will need to show he is doing something about it. But what? www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/20...

The English version of our documentary ‘Colonial Debris’ is now on Youtube! With palm oil practitioners we wrote this blog at Oxfam to highlight the links between land conflicts, palm oil and colonialism. views-voices.oxfam.org.uk/2025/08/you-...

In Indonesia these right often are toothless in practice, as collusion and corruption undermine the realization of these rights. That is what we tried to show in ‘Colonial Debris’.

De politieke onrust broeit al een tijd. Grote maarschappelijke onvrede over de zelfverrijking van politici. Wat hier onder zit is een clientelistisch systeem waarin politici steeds meer geld in hun campagnes pompen en allerlei commerciele belangen dienen. nos.nl/l/2580357

Happy to see Kompas report on our book on ‘cybertroops’ in Indonesia. With this research we hoped to raise awareness about how these networks buzzers operate and why you should be wary of ‘viral’ trends. www.kompas.id/artikel/pasu...

Inspiring talks at our workshop in Semarang, Indonesia (@undip) on online influence operations in South East in Asia. @wardb.bsky.social @yatunsastra.bsky.social

Vraag: stel, De Telegraaf lezer en iedereen die deze krant wel eens tegen komt bij de kapper, afhaaltent, etc. gaat van nu tot de verkiezingen dit soort propaganda lezen. *Is daar iets tegen te doen?* Zijn er wel eens wetenschappers die iets insturen naar De Telegraaf om tegengas te geven?

Now online: the English version of our documentary Colonial Debris. Together with documentary makers Watchdoc, we made this film to convey the results of our research project on land conflicts between palm oil companies and rural Indonesians. youtu.be/aII6__-xz8g?...

Great new special issue out in South East Asia Research on village politics in Indonesia @edwardaspinall.bsky.social @wardb.bsky.social @kitlv.bsky.social @anubellschool.bsky.social @newmandala.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/toc/rsou20/3...

A open side-event at the upcoming RSPO meet in Paris on 20 may: Oxfam and Solidaridad are organising a screening of the documentary Colonial Debris, followed and panel discussion on land rights & palm oil.

Six months apart. 🇺🇸 @economist.com

Impressive report by @fittarelli.com from CitizenLab on Thailand's IO. Nice to see that one of the "influential black accounts" that we also identified in our recent article is now exposed as belonging to the Thai state. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Nice: Jakarta Post reported on our research on oligarchization & highlights why it matters: 'Oligarchization' blocks meaningful public participation in lawmaking www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2025...

Altijd blij met ‘onze’ @jacobboersema.bsky.social. Lees dit interview…

In November 2024, Indonesia went to the polls to elect its local leaders. As i analyse in this short piece, these elections reflected an ongoing centralization of power. Jakarta aka Prabowo’s regime asserted itself on local politics. www.insideindonesia.org/the-national...

NEW: Elon Musk’s X has suspended accounts of Turkish opposition groups, suppressing footage of anti-government protests. So, best we share all the footage we can here! This was last night’s massive demo against Erdogan’s government, which follows the arrest of his rival Ekrem İmamoğlu. 🇹🇷 #Turkey

Le Monde reporting that a French scientist traveling to Houston to attend a conference was denied entry to US after a search of his phone & computer revealed messages critical of Trump's science cuts, "which [says CPB] conveyed hatred of Trump & could be qualified as terrorism". Computer confiscated

Het afpakken van rechten staat nooit op zichzelf. Dit gaat iedere Europeaan aan. nos.nl/l/2560216

Is de Indonesische president Prabowo zijn populariteit nu al kwijt? Ik was te gast bij Edwin Mooibroek’s Indonesie podcast, een overzicht van de de eerste maanden van Prabowo’s presidentsschap. www.indonesienieuws.nl/podcast-4/

This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH

If you missed it - this is @chrismurphyct.bsky.social describing the transfer of wealth from ordinary people to the very wealthy, happening right now youtu.be/MXZuHf7LMZE?...

"That's because [Putin] would rather have a puppet as president of the United States"

Call for papers! We are inviting scholars working on public opinion manipulation through social media in SEA to gather in Undip, Semarang in august, to discuss recent findings & steps forward. Do send your abstract by 15 April. www.kitlv.nl/news/online-...

Screened at the VU Amsterdam last night! Catch COLONIAL DEBRIS this week if you can. Watch and learn why companies and consumers need to divest from #conflictpalmoil from #Indonesia. And push your governments to fund #foreignaid to help villagers fight corporate giants in court. #film #documentary

Call for papers! Workshop on "Online Influence Operations and Democracy in Southeast Asia". Semarang, Indonesia 22-23 August, Diponegoro University. @wardb.bsky.social @yatunsastra.bsky.social www.kitlv.nl/news/online-...

Thanks @leidenglobal.bsky.social ! Next week: documentary launch Colonial Debris in Amsterdam and Leiden

Recent conversation with @wardb.bsky.social raises a very interesting question: Contemporary US political science understands the current moment through the lens of democratic backsliding. The focus is on rules and institutions. Why not oligarchy, the material and structural foundations of power?

Klimaatverandering is de nieuwe grote ongelijkmaker en alleen met sociaal beleid kunnen we klimaatverandering aanpakken. Morgen het eerste evenement dat @dwars en JS samen organiseren. Over klimaat! Want jongeren weten als geen ander dat rood en groen samen gaan. www.linkedin.com/posts/suzann...

Tjeez, if there was a ‘how to do a coup’ manual for budding dictators, this strategy would be in it. Brace yourselves www.techdirt.com/2025/01/31/e...

Voor iedereen met interesse in Palm olie of koloniale geschiedenis of Indonesie of gewoon docu-liefde: met Indonesische filmmakers heb ik de docu Colonial Debris gemaakt, en 24-26 Feb is de lancering aan de VU/RUL/UvA, met panel met regisseur, activisten, experts. Komt! Registratie via link.

For scholars working on the Southeast Asia and the Caribbean: if you need a research break and/or fancy the Netherlands, consider applying for these nice fellowships at KITLV vacatures.knaw.nl/job/Leiden-C...

Thank you @leidenglobal.bsky.social for this nice interview!

Essential reading on this from @tompepinsky.com www.vox.com/the-big-idea... "The fantasy of authoritarianism distracts Americans from the mundane ways in which the mechanisms of political competition and checks and balances can erode... if [democracy] ends, it will not end in a bang."

This seems a sensible solution to an urgent problem. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We are organising three screenings of our documentary Colonial Debris, followed by q&a with the director and land activists, on 24-26 feb in Amsterdam (VU and UvA) and Leiden University. Do come! For trailer & registration, see: www.kitlv.nl/event/coloni...

Nice long article in Dutch newspaper NRC on Prabowo’s policies and crony capitalism. Environmental concerns are not a priority for Prabowo: the coming five years will likely mean unfettered exploitation of natural resources. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

I find this very worrying. Electoral reform is highly needed in Indonesia due to spiralling cost & oligarchization. But this news suggests that the government is going to use these problems as an excuse to curtail democracy & centralise power. www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/20...

President Prabowo Subianto wants to make Indonesia one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, despite government data showing the middle class in South-East Asia's largest country is shrinking www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...

A worrying trend that deserves more attention: due to rising campaign costs, India’s democracy is marked by an ever tighter fusion of economic and political power. Summary of our research in the Wire: thewire.in/politics/the...

When we talk of 'cash handout' schemes in Indian politics, mustn't miss the actual cash handouts at election time. From 'The Oligarchisation of India’s Democracy' by @wardb.bsky.social, Sarthak Bagchi and Vignesh Karthik KR in EPW. www.epw.in/journal/2024...

Fellas, I don’t post here a lot but you should absolutely know this // help me spread the word! Violent crackdowns are happening in Tbilisi, Georgia. We are fighting for our lives here. Please, please, please help us spread the word.

I love this about Indonesia’s democracy: while elsewhere vote counting is behind doors, in Ind it is a collective affair, with all present shouting ‘sah!’ if a vote can be counted.

Uzbekistan 2015 vs Florida 2024

Good morning, it’s protest day! Against the budget cuts to higher education in the Netherlands, against those that stand against innovation or fair working conditions, against those that would undermine giving folks the tools for critical thinking and make education less accessible. 🟥 #WOinActie