The Indonesian (Modern/Colonial) Dream of Development

In April 2023, Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru released the documentary ‘Dragon for Sale’, capturing the impact of Development Projects under Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo across the Eastern Part of Indonesia, which includes Labuan Bajo in Manggarai, Flores. Protests from the Indigenous Manggaraian communities rejecting these projects from taking over their ancestral lands were met with violence. Learning from the (embodied) experience of the Indigenous Manggaraian people resisting the violence of Development projects forced upon them, in this article, we aim to highlight racism embedded in practices of Development and knowledge produced about Development. Connecting this to the emergence of Development as a paradigm following the process of Decolonisation between the 1940s and 1960s, we argue that Development should be seen as a continuation of colonialism. As such, Development shares the underlying logic and practices of colonialism—hence the race and racism embedded within Development practices and the knowledge produced to support these practices.