Indonesia and Australian flags. Image from Flickr, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Indonesia and Australian flags. Image from Flickr, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

How can we fix Australia’s Indonesia anxiety?

7 September 2016

Indonesia is the neighbour that makes Australians feel uneasy but also want to get on with.

Australians have long been ambivalent towards Indonesia. They want a good relationship with Indonesia and disapprove when the government fails to maintain this. But they are also wary and often anxious about Indonesia. Only a small minority of Australians feel close to or knowledgeable about the country.

Tackling this ambivalence is seemingly becoming harder due to changes in both nations. Within Australia, Indonesian literacy is falling. Fewer Australians learn Indonesian than probably at any time in the past half-century. And there is little Indonesian content in the general school curriculum.

Read How can we fix Australia’s Indonesia anxiety? by Greg Fealy published in The Conversation.

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