Against All Odds: A Public Talk on the Past, Present, and Future of Social Movements in Indonesia

The Wellington Socialist Society Presents – Against All Odds: A Public Talk on the Past, Present, and Future of Social Movements in Indonesia, In Conversation with Ben Laksana (Te Herenga Waka).

Activism and social movements in Indonesia have been shaped by a long history of anti-communism, state violence, and the repression of popular organising. Drawing on Ben’s research and engagement with student movements and labour unions, alongside experiences with farmers’ organisations, Indigenous struggles, and environmental activism, this talk explores how these diverse movements have persisted despite political repression and structural constraint. It situates contemporary struggles over labour, land, education, and the environment, to name a few, within a longer history of exclusion and criminalisation of left-wing activism, while examining how activists continue to organise under conditions of economic precarity and tightening authoritarian control. By linking past and present, the discussion highlights both the political contributions and the limits of left-wing activism in contemporary Indonesia.

Ben Laksana is a community educator and sociologist whose work focuses on critical political learning, activism, and social movements in Indonesia. His recently completed PhD research draws on ethnographic engagement with Indonesian student activists, examining how activism persists under repression, economic precarity, and authoritarian constraint. He is heavily involved in community critical political education in Indonesia, working with activist groups and communities to develop collective learning practices that link everyday struggle to broader questions of power, inequality, and social change.