Journal of Political Issues

United States-China Green Energy Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges (2021-2024)

2026-02-09T00:21:23+00:00

Green energy cooperation between the United States and China emerged as a strategic effort to address global climate change during the period from 2021 to 2024. This research explores the dynamics of this cooperation, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges faced by the two countries. Employing a liberal interdependence theoretical framework, the study employs qualitative methods, with library research serving as the primary data collection technique. Despite existing geopolitical differences, both countries advanced green energy development under the leadership of Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. Opportunities for collaboration arose from various factors, including changes in leadership, enhanced dialogue, positive responses, global interdependence, formal agreements, and the strategic role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Key areas of cooperation encompassed investment in green technology, knowledge transfer, and collaborative research efforts. However, challenges during Biden's administration were inevitable and continued to persist even after the administration ended due to divergent domestic policies and priorities arising from changing leadership, technological competition, and ongoing political tensions. Greater difficulties are anticipated as Donald Trump returns to office. The study concludes that cooperation in green energy between these two major economic powers is vital for the global energy transition and efforts to mitigate climate change; nevertheless, significant challenges must be addressed to facilitate positive trends and achieve progress.

Why Trilateral Cooperation Failed to Curb ISIS: A Regional Security Complex Theory Analysis

2026-02-09T00:21:24+00:00

This study explains why the Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines trilateral cooperation has failed to curb regional security threats in the Sulu–Sulawesi Sea. The strategic position of the area has been exploited by ISIS networks to expand their influence and operations across Southeast Asia, intensifying security challenges in the tri-border region. In response, the three states established trilateral cooperation as a mechanism to suppress ISIS’s activities. However, empirical developments show that ISIS operations continued to grow despite this initiative. Guided by the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) and using a deductive qualitative method, the findings reveal three interconnected factors that explain the TCA’s failure to curb ISIS expansion between 2017–2019. First, the geographical proximity and porous maritime borders of the Sulu–Sulawesi Sea facilitated the movement of foreign terrorist fighters, weapons, and financial flows, creating shared vulnerabilities that were not jointly managed. Second, interstate distrust, sovereignty sensitivities, and divergent threat perceptions hindered the institutionalization of coordinated mechanisms such as Joint Maritime Patrols, preventing cohesive operations. Third, limited and asymmetrical external involvement—particularly from the United States—focused on technical support rather than addressing root causes, weakening regional autonomy and coherence.

Navigating Maritime Politics: A Systematic Review and Bibliomatric Mapping

2026-02-07T16:01:43+00:00

Maritime affairs constitute a strategic domain within contemporary geopolitical dynamics. In recent decades, maritime spaces have ascended as a critical arena for power projection, driven by intensifying global competition. This study employs a systematic mapping approach to delineate the evolution and predominant research trends within maritime political studies. Utilizing bibliographic data from the Scopus database in the period of 2005–2025, we analyzed a corpus of scientific articles on maritime politics. The data were processed using the VOSviewer software to generate a network map of keywords, elucidate inter-topic relationships, and trace conceptual developments. The analysis reveals five dominant keywords that form the discursive core: marine policy, governance, the marine environment, ocean governance, and marine governance. These themes are not isolated but are intricately interconnected within a conceptual network, illustrating the trajectory of maritime politics over the past two decades. The inter topic relationships signify the integration of ecological and political imperatives, shaping an emergent governance model characterized by its trans boundary, collaborative, and sustainability-oriented nature. This evolution represents an epistemological shift from a state-centrist paradigm, through a governance paradigm, toward a nascent ecological-political paradigm. Consequently, the sea is no longer conceived merely as an economic or territorial domain, but is increasingly recognized as a complex and dynamic political space.

Institutional Durability of Delivery Units in Indonesia: Preliminary Findings

2026-02-07T16:05:29+00:00

This study examines the dynamics and institutional durability of various delivery units in Indonesia, including the Presidential Work Unit and the Presidential Staff Office, within a comparative cross-administrative framework and the conceptual lens of deliverology, as practiced by the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit in the United Kingdom. In contrast to short-term approaches driven by leadership style and performance orientation, this study emphasizes the importance of systematizing and sustaining coordination, synchronization, and control functions. The findings reveal that establishing delivery units in Indonesia tends to be temporary and pragmatic, lacking robust legal foundations and strong institutional integration. Political factors, leadership personalization, and overlapping authorities emerge as key impediments. Employing a collective or multiple-case study design with a comparative analytical approach, this research concludes that while several principles of deliverology, such as using targets and performance monitoring, have been adopted, delivery units have yet to be institutionalized as long-term governance instruments. Therefore, the study recommends establishing a stronger legal framework, developing adaptable institutional designs, and promoting professional leadership to ensure the continuity of these units in supporting the implementation of national priority policies.

Indonesia-South Korea Cooperation in Forest Fire Management in Ogan Komering Ilir: From Securitization to Adaptive Governance

2026-02-09T00:21:23+00:00

Forest and land fires in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), South Sumatra, continue to pose a persistent environmental challenge. This study examines Indonesia–South Korea cooperation through the Korea–Indonesia Forest Cooperation Center (KIFC), which was established in response to the securitisation of forest fires and has evolved into a model of adaptive governance. By examining KIFC, this article demonstrates that securitization enables international cooperation and technical control, yet simultaneously constrains deeper adaptive governance needed to address local fire drivers. By employing a qualitative case study approach, this research examines KIFC's initiatives from 2015 to 2024, utilizing a combination of document analysis, policy review, and field observations. The findings show that while KIFC introduced advanced monitoring systems and early warning technologies, local economic dependence on land-clearing and fragmented governance remain significant barriers. This study argues that KIFC has succeeded technically but faces challenges in addressing deeper structural issues. The cooperation's success hinges on the alignment of external technical solutions with local socio-economic realities and the fostering of community-based resilience. This study contributes to understanding how international cooperation can bridge the gap between securitization and adaptive governance, offering lessons for future sustainable environmental governance in Indonesia and beyond.

Politik Kewargaan Dimensi Hak bagi Penghayat Kepercayaan di Indonesia

2026-02-11T00:22:07+00:00

Adherents of indigenous beliefs represent belief systems rooted in local traditions that continue to be preserved by local communities. As of 2024, the number of adherents of indigenous beliefs reached 98,822 individuals, or approximately 0.003% of the total population. In Indonesia, adherents of indigenous beliefs continue to face limitations in legal recognition and the fulfillment of their rights. This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the legal recognition and rights of adherents of indigenous beliefs, the forms of discrimination in the implementation of the Constitutional Court decision, and to identify the factors that hinder the effective implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling. This research employs a descriptive qualitative method based on document analysis. Data were collected through the examination of government documents related to the recognition of the legal status of adherents of indigenous beliefs. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using a qualitative approach with content analysis techniques. The findings indicate that Constitutional Court Decision No. 97/PUU-XIV/2016 represents the provision of a civil rights dimension; however, in practice, the implementation of these rights remains constrained, thereby hindering the fulfillment of social rights for adherents of indigenous beliefs. Discrimination persists in population administration, access to education, and burial arrangements. Such discrimination is influenced by factors including the limited competence of administrative officers, the lack of integration of educational services for adherents of indigenous beliefs, minimal public dissemination of the Constitutional Court decision, and weak law enforcement against violence and discriminatory practices targeting adherents of indigenous beliefs.