Torn Between America and China, Elite Perceptions and Indonesian Foreign Policy - Daniel Novotny

1. Post-Cold War international relations have been marked by far-reaching shifts in the balance of power with the perhaps most widely known example being the challenge rising China pose to the predominance of the US. It has been increasingly apparent that many smaller states are forced to respond to this trend by carefully manoeuvring between these two major powers. A case in point is Southeast Asian States’ growing difficulty in effectively managing their relationships with the incumbent and the rising superpower.
2. There has been much debate about the present dynamics and possible future direction of Indonesia’s foreign policy – of particular interest is Indonesia’s approach to its relations with the US and China.