English

Abstract

Terrorism emerged as serious security problem in Indonesia since a network of terrorist group rocked this country, started from the Bali bombing (2002) followed by other consecutive bombings, such as, J. W. Marriott Hotel bombing (2003), the Australian Embassy bombing (2004), and the Ritz Carlton Hotel bombing (2009). This article attempts to examine the ways in which the government responded towards the problem. What sort of policies did the Indonesian government take to respond to terrorism during the 2002—2009 period? This study uses a qualitative research method. The data used in this research are derived from official documents, direct interviews with government officials and the secondary sources (books and journals) on terrorism and counterterrorism. This article shows that the government adopted the legal approach or law-enforcement (“hard approach”) by issuing the anti-terrorism law as a legal framework and by reorganizing the police force to strengthen its counter-terrorist capability. It also adopted an “ideological” approach (soft approach) to battle religious extremism. This sort of approach is mainly aimed at defusing and neutralizing the religious extremism of terrorist groups and preventing it from spreading into the wider community. This article shows that the government has used effectively both approaches in destroying problem of terrorism in Indonesia. Key Words: Indonesia, policy, terrorism, counterterrorism, legal approach, “ideological” approach.