The economic nationalism with palm plantations in Indonesia

Abstract

Nationalist policies and ideas, especially regarding palm oil in Indonesia, have influenced the direction of foreign business interests, especially Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean businessmen, closely intertwined, causing the role of parliament to fail to limit foreign ownership. The policies also conflict with the interests of Indonesia's most powerful tycoons. Contemporary resource nationalism is a product of a policy-making culture established within Indonesia, but is hostile to foreign capital, which plays a significant role in determining the fate of foreign policymaking. While Indonesia's palm oil business is comprised of a complex network of regional and domestic capital, the success of the policy requires attention to the political economy at various sectoral levels to understand the changes in nationalist policies in a country where business still relies on foreign capital, which has implications for the state in implementing nationalist policies.