The Indonesian ambassador to the United States spoke at the Rebecca Crown Center on Thursday evening about emerging Asian economies and Southeast Asia’s place in global politics.
Dr. Dino Patti Djalal addressed about 40 Northwestern students and faculty members in Hardin Hall about Indonesia’s consistently strengthening economy.
Djalal, who was appointed to his ambassadorship in 2010, was brought to campus by the Equality Development and Globalization Studies program run out of the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies. Djalal spoke as the first Rajawali Lecturer, named for the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia. The foundation is dedicated to advancing teachings on Asia, and their donation helped fund the lecture.
Djalal began his lecture lightheartedly – apparently a running theme for some of Djalal’s diplomatic dealings – with personal stories of when he recognized Indonesia’s economy was taking off. He started with the story of his uncle who he said kept a picture of a British man shining his shoes with him as a personal confidence booster. Djalal contrasted this story with his encounter with an Indonesian businessman of a younger generation who casually described his career aspirations as eventually buying Disney or Universal. Djalal said this stark increase of confidence underlined for him Indonesia’s growing place in the global market.
“There was a leap of mindset, a leap of ambition and a leap of self-image,” Djalal said.
This rising status of Southeast Asia as a global player was contrasted with “declining confidence in the Western world,” Djalal said. For a region that historically had endured centuries of Western conquest, he said, this new found confidence was huge for Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia.
“We feel like we’re driving the region now,” Djalal said. “The region feels like home.”
Djalal warned that this boost in confidence for emerging countries is only temporary, and it should be utilized while it’s there. However, if these countries begin taking risks and embracing change, he said, they could rise to become new global players. Djalal cited celebrities like Jackie Chan and Ang Lee as evidence of Asia’s increasing global influence. These developing countries – some of which like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia itself are now burgeoning world economies – aren’t trying to emulate the United States, Djalal said, but rather are developing their own “anomalies of progress.”
Djalal then cautioned these emerging countries from falling into one of several traps this new confidence can lead to, including ultranationalism and even a desire for “payback” against the West.
“Fortunately, it hasn’t gone in that direction,” Djalal said. “But these forces are still there.”
Djalal closed his lecture by asserting that the one thing these emerging countries in Southeast Asia want from existing powers is simple: respect. He assured the audience that these countries shouldn’t be seen as a threat, but rather as a potential diplomatic partner.
“Diplomacy is changing. America is not the only game in town,” Djalal said. “Don’t feel bad. America is not going slower. Asia is just going faster.”