Indonesia in International Relations with Ambassador Piper Campbell

The Carolina Asia Center and the Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs are proud to present a conference on Indonesia in International Relations.

Join us on Jan. 26 for a keynote address from Ambassador Piper Campbell, former U.S. chargé d’affaires to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Speakers convened at an Indonesian partner university will provide Indonesian perspectives on the current state and future of Indonesia’s foreign relations.

About the conference

This conference celebrates the 75th anniversary of UNC-Chapel Hill President Dr. Frank Porter Graham negotiating the Renville Treaty during the Indonesian Revolution and recognizes Indonesia’s recent chairmanship of the G20.

On 17 January 1948, under the auspices of a United Nations committee convened by then-president of UNC-Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham, the Indonesian Republican government under Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta signed the Renville Agreement, the first multi-lateral agreement in the country’s history.

Since that date, Indonesia has had an important role in international relations, from the establishment of the Third World movement at the Bandung Conference in 1955 to its leadership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since the 1970s.

In 2023, 75 years after Renville and shortly after Indonesia convenes the G20, the time is ripe to re-evaluate Indonesia’s position in international relations. How has Indonesia’s position in international relations evolved over time? What are the domestic drivers of Indonesia’s current foreign policy? Has Indonesia been underperforming on the international stage, as the fourth-most-populous country on earth and the country with the largest Muslim population?

This hybrid conference, co-convened with an Indonesian partner university, will examine Indonesia in international relations with both historical and contemporary perspectives. A special presentation of the papers collected by Frank Porter Graham during his UN service in Indonesia will show Carolina’s long engagement with international affairs and UNC’s potential as a hub for Asia research, in addition to opening up materials long overlooked in researching Indonesia’s past. Speakers convened in Chapel Hill by the CAC will discuss aspects of Indonesia in international relations from past to present, including a keynote from Amb. Piper Campbell, former US chargé d’affaires at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Speakers convened at an Indonesian partner university will provide Indonesian perspectives on the current state and future of Indonesia’s foreign relations.

The conference will proceed over two days, held in the evenings in the US / mornings in Indonesia. Sessions will be live on one campus and live-streamed online for the other campus and virtual registrants around the world. Anyone can register at go.unc.edu/Indonesia to join the Zoom session virtually.