Organizer: The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University

Description:

In November-December 2022 Indonesia hosted two international events, the Group of Twenty Summit (G20) and the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF).  Being in the country then, Gita Wirjawan gained impressions of the G20 and attended the BDF.  At both gatherings, he noted, concerns were expressed over the rise of autocracy, the growth of populism, and their effects on state integrity and performance, including an inability to recruit and select national leaders based on their actual talent—proven merit—above other considerations.  This tendency is increasingly common, Wirjawan will argue, in developed as well as developing countries.

A vital requisite for the economic and democratic success of open economies, in Southeast Asia as elsewhere, is trust.  International transfers of capital are like flows of water driven by gravity.  The power of that attraction depends on the extent to which the receiving country is perceived as trustworthy.  For liberal democracy to thrive in Southeast Asia, the region needs good governance by talented and trusted leaders who can ensure that appropriate rules are enforced and that the benefits of economic growth accrue to all layers of society.  Wirjawan’s recommendations in that context will include a priority on widely available quality education.

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