Indonesian lawyers combine legal reasoning with a subtle personal touch Santy Kouwagam   There is an old joke about the word hakim (judge). Indonesians tell each other that the word actually means hubungi aku kalau ingin menang – contact me if you want to win. The joke suggests that people can simply buy court decisions.… Read More How to win court cases in Indonesia

 In 2014 Indonesia’s parliament adopted a new village law that, when fully implemented, would bring big chances to rural life. The law aims at an empowerment of villages. Or should I say: an empowerment of village elites. The new law stipulates that each village should get 1.4 billion rupiah (about 100.000 euro), to be spend… Read More Informal Politics and Indonesia’s new Village Law