Protest Politics: Unpacking Indonesia’s August 2025 Demonstrations

This briefing examines what ignited Indonesia’s largest wave of protests in years. Drawing on field reporting and digital evidence, the analysis shows how pop-culture symbolism (the One Piece ‘Jolly Roger’ flag), cost-of-living pressures, anger at elite privilege, weak security-sector accountability, and democratic disillusionment converged to spur over 100 protests across 36 provinces.

It documents a state response mixing small-scale concessions with coercive actions, resulting in more than 3,000 arrests. With structural reforms unlikely, renewed mobilisation remains probable — even if the next trigger and coalition look different.

Ceárta’s inaugural in-house report is now available here.