Democratic Transition and Indonesia-Russia Bilateral Relations from 2001 to 2014: Trends and Emerging Actors

This paper explores and investigates the democratic transition impact on the bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Russian Federation from 2001 to 2014. It argues that the democratic transition affected foreign policy conduct which was indicated by the shift of a state's policy orientation becoming more liberal and gave way to the emerging of new actors in foreign policy conduct. Indonesia and the Russian Federation were experiencing a democratic transition within the same period of time: 1990s post-Soviet Russia and post-authoritarian Indonesia. This paper uses the historical method to explore how Indonesia and the Russian Federation conducted their bilateral relations from 2001 to 2014 and to what extent the democratic transition within the two countries affected the foreign policy orientation and diplomatic conduct among the countries. This paper is expected to enhance the discussion of the democratic transition's impact on foreign policy and diplomacy conduct from the historical approach. It tries to understand the democratic transition as a unique historical event from the actor's perspective, perceived norms, and institutional conventions that shape and constrain the foreign policy and diplomacy actors' behavior. It found that there is a particular configuration and the interplay of democratic institutions and actors that have a differential impact on democratic foreign policy and international outcomes.