Resource Nationalism, Elite Power, and Developmental Statecraft in Indonesia

Abstract

This article reviews Resource Nationalism in Indonesia: Booms, Big Business, and the State by Eve Warburton, situating its central arguments within Indonesia’s evolving political economy. The book challenges conventional state-centric interpretations by demonstrating that resource nationalism is deeply embedded in patronage democracy and shaped by coalitions between political actors and domestic business elites. It introduces the concept of “private resource nationalism,” in which nationalist policies often redistribute economic opportunities toward politically connected actors rather than broadly advancing public welfare. This review contextualizes these dynamics historically, tracing the evolution of resource nationalism from the ideological orientation of the Soekarno era, through the pragmatic and patronage-based system of the Suharto period, to the regulatory and developmental approaches under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo. Particular attention is given to the nickel sector, where export bans and downstream industrialization policies illustrate a shift toward assertive state-led transformation, albeit accompanied by new forms of dependency on foreign capital. While acknowledging the book’s analytical strengths, the review identifies limitations, including its limited treatment of environmental, social, and institutional capacity dimensions. Building on these insights, the article offers forward-looking reflections on the future of resource nationalism in Indonesia, emphasizing the need for more inclusive, sustainable, and strategically integrated approaches in the context of Indonesia Emas 2045.