TECHNOLOGICAL AL-ISTIKBĀR:
NEW IMPERIALISM AND INDONESIA’S DEFENSE SOVEREIGNTY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67281/issue.v4i2.85Keywords:
Al-Istikbār, Technology Dependency Index (IKT), Defense Svereignty, Iqtiṣād Muqāwamah, Sayid Ali KhameneiAbstract
The development of contemporary defense technology has created new forms of structural dependency that fundamentally transcend conventional imperialism. In Imam Khamenei’s thought, this phenomenon is systematically understood as al-istikbār, which operates across three layers: military-physical, economic-financial, and epistemic-technological. This qualitative library-based study, supplemented by a semi-quantitative assessment instrument, examines Khamenei’s anti-imperialist doctrine and contextualizes it within three key characteristics of Indonesia: the paradox of its free and active foreign policy, its archipelagic geography, and the historical legacy of the 1955 Bandung Conference. The study proposes a Technology Dependency Index (Indeks Ketergantungan Teknologi– IKT) based on four dimensions: the Domestic Component Level (Tingkat Komponen Dalam Negeri–TKDN), Vendor Maintenance Dependency (Ketergantungan Pemeliharaan Vendor–KPV), Extraterritorial Regulatory Risk (Risiko Regulasi Ekstrateritorial–RRE), and Capability Transfer Index (Indeks Transfer Kemampuan–ITK), which are applied to seven case studies of Indonesian defense policy. The three cases exhibiting the highest levels of dependency are CAATSA, ITAR, and the procurement of Rafale aircraft, demonstrating that the free and active foreign policy paradox has a direct impact on defense operational autonomy. Khamenei’s concept of technological self-reliance is considered relevant to strengthening Indonesia’s national defense industry policy, as stipulated in Law No. 16/2012.
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