The objectives of this article are twofold. First, it seeks to posit Jokowi’s foreign and security policies in the broader historical context of Indonesian foreign and security policymaking. Throughout history, Indonesia’s responses to its external environment, as manifested in its foreign and security policies, have been significantly influenced by a range of domestic factors including leaders’ personality and his/her attitude to international politics. Building upon the historical observation, this article seeks to understand Jokowi’s foreign and security policies in the South China Sea using a neoclassical realism framework. It argues that there has been a shift in Indonesia’s approach to the South China Sea problem, characterised by a more active and pragmatic diplomacy and a more assertive approach to territorial integrity. Both components, however, are not deterministic products of external threats as predicted by neorealist theories. Instead, they are influenced by Jokowi’s personality, attitude towards foreign and security policy and preoccupation of his administration with the domestic agenda.

本文的目的是双重的。首先，它试图将佐科的外交和安全政策置于印度尼西亚外交和安全决策的更广泛历史背景下。纵观历史，印度尼西亚对其外部环境的反应，体现在其外交和安全政策上，受到一系列国内因素的显着影响，包括领导人的个性和他/她对国际政治的态度。基于历史观察，本文试图使用新古典现实主义框架来理解佐科在南海的外交和安全政策。报告认为，印尼对南海问题的态度发生了转变，其特点是外交更加积极务实，对领土完整的态度更加自信。两个组件，然而，它们并不是新现实主义理论所预测的外部威胁的确定性产物。相反，他们受到佐科的个性、对外交和安全政策的态度以及他的政府对国内议程的关注。