Articles/Essays/Notes

Five dharmas—Ubuntu, Stoicism, Aboriginal Dreaming, Sumarah and the Abrahamic covenant—disagree on nearly everything, yet rhyme underneath.

'Spiritual but not religious' isn't dharma's absence but its search — without gods, without ritual, against an attention economy built to fight it.

Gary Dean's 2026 update on doing business in Indonesia: how Javanese culture, patronage, musyawarah and law shape investment 25 years after Reformasi.

How Gen Y and Gen Z employees at Okusi Associates in Jakarta communicate and collaborate across departments, per this qualitative case study.

Explore applied anthropology's practical methods for solving real-world challenges in public health, sustainability, urban planning, and social justice.

A fiery 2002 polemic: an expat Australian explains why he prefers Indonesia's chaos to Australia's smug, bureaucratic certainty.

Guide to Indonesian business culture, law, joint ventures and investment—essential context for Western entrepreneurs. Written 2001; see the 2026 update.

Why understanding Javanese and Indonesian culture is vital for foreign business success, illustrated by a consultant's real case from Tasikmalaya.

Examining the 1997 East Asian crisis: how Western neoliberal assumptions clashed with Asian collectivist business and state-capital ties.

Comparing Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan: how patrimonialism, Confucian values and education shaped divergent economic development paths.

Exploring Javanese Santri Islam: the santri-abangan divide, traditionalist vs modernist strands, and how mysticism shapes religious identity in Java.