The politics of international broadcasters: A comparison between Indonesia and Australia

Abstract

Seeking to assess the current state of international broadcasters (IBs) within the framework of public diplomacy, this paper assesses the relevance of state-sponsored IBs within the contemporary public diplomacy. This paper focuses on the IBs of two neighboring countries, Indonesia and Australia, and political authorities’ dynamic support for their services. Data were obtained through desk reviews of IB policies, in-depth interviews, and online observation of the websites of Siaran Luar Negeri (SLN, Indonesia's IB) and ABC Radio Australia (RA, Australia's IB). This paper finds that both countries have continued to use IBs for their public diplomacy, yet ‘political parallelism’ determines the position and sustainability of each. SLN has had limited political support and faced a series of managerial crises, while RA has enjoyed the fruitful support of the Australian authorities and has been heavily involved in public diplomacy in the Asia–Pacific region.