Abandoning Assertiveness: Assessing Foreign Policy Change in Indonesia's Response to Sea-Based Incursions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Indonesia's responses to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF) shifted from assertive measures such as publicly bombing and sinking illegal ships to legal, educational, and cooperative measures. The changes in policies undertaken are puzzling, given that Indonesian policymakers' perception of IUUF has remained the same between 2014 and 2025, which poses a threat. This qualitative study examines the changes through the following frameworks. First, this is achieved by typologizing the foreign policy change under Hermann's conception of “program” and “goal” change, which examines the transitions in methods and goals that Indonesian policymakers adopt concerning IUUF. Second, to trace the drivers of the changes, this study bridges the public policy literature by examining variables related to coalition dynamics, differing belief systems, and perceptions among policymaking bodies, as well as shifts in policy images, which collectively shape how Indonesian policymakers aim to respond to IUUF within Indonesia's maritime borders.

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