Publications
Evidence with a purpose.
Reports, policy briefs, press releases, books, and public commentary in one searchable archive.
Communities squeezed by concessions: The legal politics of mining permits for religious organizations
Communities Squeezed by Concessions: The Legal Politics of Mining Permits for Religious Organizations examines the political and business interests behind the granting of mining concessions to business entities owned by religious organizations. Through legal analysis and cases involving affected residents, the book questions promises of prosperity for religious communities and highlights the risks of environmental damage, agrarian conflict, and weakened organizational independence. It invites readers to reconsider the responsibilities of the state and religious organizations in protecting residents and...
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Land fenced off, water locked up: the tangle of energy projects and dispossession of living spaces in East Java
This book documents conflicts over control of the sources of life in several parts of East Java through three main sections. The first section highlights agrarian inequality in Ijen, Bondowoso, where plantation workers and farmers have lived for generations without secure land rights and faced conflicts with state-owned plantations and the expansion of geothermal projects. The second section discusses the water crisis in Batu City. Water, which should belong to everyone, has been turned into a commodity controlled by a handful of peo
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China-Indonesia relations: 2025 year in review and 2026 outlook
Book Description This book examines China–Indonesia relations in 2025, marking 75 years of diplomatic ties amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Cooperation across trade, investment, infrastructure, technology—including artificial intelligence (AI)—and defense expanded, even as Indonesia faced challenges in governance and strategic positioning. Indonesia joining BRICS and US tariffs set the tone for the year, shaping expectations around Global South engagement, trade realignment, and acces
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The state in command mode: legal autocracy and environmental emergency
This book was born out of concern over the direction of state governance, which is moving ever further away from the spirit of constitutionalism, democracy, and ecological justice. In recent years, state power has shown a tendency to operate in command mode: centralized, narrowing civic space, allowing state apparatuses to dominate the public and private sectors, moving quickly with little participation, and relying on legal instruments for legitimacy. In recent years, this phenomenon has not always taken the form of visible violations of law that
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China-Indonesia relations: 2024 year in review and 2025 outlook
This book explores the evolving China-Indonesia relationship throughout 2024, highlighting both achievements and challenges across various sectors. Indonesia's push to join BRICS underscores its growing global influence, while trade with China continues to expand despite tensions in the ceramics and textiles industries. Cooperation in agriculture, technology, and renewable energy reflects both nations' commitment to economic and environmental sustainability. Chinese investments in electric vehic
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Critique at the limits of transition: rekindling the embers of resistance against the hijacking of the energy and economic transition
The fronts that CELIOS’s team focused on throughout 2024 covered major issues: countering the energy transition’s wrong turn, promoting a restorative economy, ensuring fiscal policy works for the middle class and the poor, and addressing digital transformation’s growing distance from its mission of promoting welfare. From the energy-transition front, we learned how narratives and plans promoting false solutions—natural gas (also a fossil fuel) and carbon-capture technology—have strayed far from the essence of a just energy transition.
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Time for a restorative economy
THIS BOOK began as a document—which at the time we called a booklet—prepared in the hope that it would spark healthy debate in society. The work took place, and specifically had to be completed by, a gathering of several civil society organizations in Yogyakarta in late August 2023. The reason behind the decision to create it was clear: we need more actors, including politicians, candidates for legislative bodies, candidates for regional head positions, and anyone else who can play a role
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Seizing control of the energy transition: the tragedy of regional autonomy in energy transition policy
This book seeks to explain how the dominance of the Central Government, legitimized in the name of energy sovereignty and national interests, has centralized electricity-related matters across licensing, guidance, and supervision, causing the burden of ensuring integrity to accumulate at the center. The book also presents an analysis through seven major topics, ranging from the conflict between the paradigms of state monopoly and energy democracy to the centralization of energy affairs in the draft renewable energy bill
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Geothermal in Indonesia: the dilemma of potential and exploitation in the name of the energy transition
This book seeks to examine the impacts of geothermal exploration and exploitation. It presents several analyses of geothermal power plant (PLTP) projects in various regions of Indonesia and in other countries. Debate over their benefits and harms is inevitable, but one thing is certain: existing PLTP projects, as well as those still in the planning stage, must be comprehensively evaluated. With justice and participation as guiding principles, PLTP development plans must involve various stakeholders, especially local residents
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China-Indonesia relations: 2023 year in review and 2024 outlook
2023 was another crucial year for China-Indonesia relations. Cooperation continued to grow across various dimensions. While politics and the economy remained focal points in the ties between China and Indonesia, the year also witnessed discussions on new issues in both Beijing and Jakarta. These included cooperation in the renewable energy sector, Indonesia’s potential membership in BRICS, and mapping the future direction of Indonesia’s foreign policy towards China in light of the upcoming presi
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From social movement to legal recognition: the legal politics of the Sibiruang Indigenous People’s Land Rights, from local to international perspectives
This book seeks to invite readers to explore the various regulatory frameworks in place at the local, national, and international levels governing the recognition and protection of Indigenous peoples. The aim is not merely to explore these frameworks in order to understand them, but also to encourage readers to consider and reflect on their direct impact on Indigenous peoples. The author is convinced and believes that Sibiruang—the case study discussed throughout this book—is onl
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Morowali dust
“Morowali Dust” is a novel inspired by the author’s experiences conducting research in the Morowali region. The author offers a vivid portrayal of the relationship between people and nature, and their struggle to preserve the balance of a fragile ecosystem. About the Authors Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara is an economist active in various areas of macroeconomic and public policy analysis. Founder and Executive Director of CELIOS (Center of Economic and Law Studies).
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