Hello! I currently write about the international political economy of data, and have previously written on governance, democratisation and political Islam. I teach digital politics, international development and Asian politics. My area specialism is Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, where... Continue Reading →
Responding to current data monopolies, interest in collective ownership of data has grown. This article reframes “data commons” as a problem of social interaction rather than regulatory design, laying out research directions that draw from humanities and interpretive social science.... Continue Reading →
As developing countries become new terrain for the expansion of US Big Tech and develop their own digital economies, international policy discourses urge the adoption of data governance as self-evidently ‘good policy’ moving into existing regulatory vacuums. However, like any... Continue Reading →
This policy brief recommends the use of 'political economy analysis' to navigate the unique sensitivities that exist in every country around the economic exploitation of data.
Several emerging economies have expressed interest in adopting a different model of digital capitalism based on economically exploiting the personal data collected by the state in the process of welfare dispersal. This article describes its progenitor, the “India Stack,” drawing... Continue Reading →
There is a global standoff going on about who stores your data. At the close of June’s G20 summit in Japan, a number of developing countries refused to sign an international declaration on data flows – the so-called Osaka Track. Part of... Continue Reading →
Indonesia is well-placed for China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But despite a slew of investment promises, problems around land acquisition, construction permits and the politicisation of Chinese investment have hampered plans. With the Indonesian presidential and legislative elections just around the corner in April 2019, the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
As the United Kingdom considers post-Brexit trade opportunities outside the European Union, this briefing looks at the potential for greater cooperation with Indonesia. It finds that the UK can mitigate its reduced bargaining power outside the EU by providing targeted, practical trade facilitation measures in exchange for increased investment opportunities. Becoming an agile and dynamic economic partner in comparison with the EU’s bureaucratic approach chimes well with the small business background of Indonesia’s President Widodo.
Jacqueline Hicks 