International Relations

Why study International Relations in Indonesia?

Indonesia, a member of the G20 group of nations, is playing an increasingly important role in regional and global politics. It brings to its approach to international relations a unique perspective formed out of its particular historical, cultural and political context. It has strong historical and political links with the non-aligned world, having hosted the first Asian-African summit in Bandung in 1955. With the largest Muslim population in the world, its links with the Islamic world are cultural and personal as well as political. Indonesia was a founding member of ASEAN, the Association of South East Asian Nations, and is playing a growing role in Australian-Pacific defence, security and immigration issues as well.

Whether seeking a career in international relations or simply wanting to be well-informed about an Indonesian perspective on the world and its affairs, foreign students have much to gain from studying international relations in Indonesia.

International Relations at Parahyangan University

Parahyangan University has an A rating from the National Accreditation Board and its staff members hold PhDs from local and overseas universities, including: Curtin University (Australia), Flinders (Australia), Cambridge (UK), Leeds (UK), Cornell (US) and Helsinki (Finland). The program has long-standing collaborative agreements with Leeds (UK), Giessen (Germany) and Flinders (Australia) universities, leading to staff and student exchanges and joint research and teaching projects. It also has sound relations with the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs, its staff members often undertaking consultancy research work for the Department and participating in departmental seminars. Students in the program regularly take part in regional and international academic activities; most recently, Parahyangan students participated in the Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) held in Boston in February 2009, where they won an Outstanding Delegation Award.

The Parahyangan Centre for International Studies (PACIS) is a research institute located within the Department of International Relations, founded in 1997. Its research partners have included Leeds (UK) and Giessen (Germany) Universities, the Nordic Institute for Asian Studies (Copenhagen) and Oxfam Great Britain (UK).