Islam and Indonesia's foreign policy, with special focus on Jakata-Islamabad relations

[Truncated abstract] This study explores the roles of Islam in Indonesia's foreign policy. Indonesia is a country with the world's largest Muslim community, where the political meaning of Islam is contested in the process of nation-building. Islam has come under increasing scrutiny by international relations scholars, particularly since Islamic extremism has become one of the major challenges to the post-Cold War world order. Therefore, it is important to research whether and how the religion has impacted the basic thinking and making of foreign policy in Indonesia. To contextualize the analysis, the study pays special attention to Indonesia's relations with Pakistan as a major case study. Chapter One examines the role of Islam in Indonesian foreign policy within three dimensions; national identity formation, elite interest and domestic politics, and external situations. The discussion on Jakarta-Islamabad relations are presented in chapters organized based on the changing political regimes in Jakarta and developments of international and regional Islamic-related issues, in a synthetic fashion. Chapter Two demonstrates that under the Sukarno regime (1945-1965) there was a shift in Indonesia's policy towards Pakistan; from avoiding to using Islamic identity. This was coupled with the change in Jakarta's strategic interests in the relationships with Pakistan and India. Chapter Three and Four report on the weakening of Islam's role in Indonesia- Pakistan relations, particularly as happened during the 1970s and 1980s under the New Order of Suharto in Indonesia. Islam did not rate as an important factor because the Indonesian government tended to pursue secular interests - with an emphasis on discourses of economic development and regional stability.