Nandang Sutrisno
As individual country becomes more politically and economically integrated with the global economy, it is increasingly problematic for them to exclude themselves from the process. In fact, as firmly established as one of the economics orthodoxies, the developing countries that adjusted to this reality have significantly profited from their rapid integration in forms of the sustained economic growth. From the legal standpoint, it raises a number of very pertinent questions that require immediate attention from both policy makers and legislators alike. As such, this paper uses Indonesia as its case study as it conservative stance has framed the national debate on international law in general and higher national education in particular. More specifically, in the context of the worldwide populist backlash against globalization, this paper offers some prescriptive insights that can be employed for developing a sensible respond to emotionally charged questions such as how to successfully liberalize while at the same time closely attuned to the national ideology. In addition, I am also hopeful that this paper is pragmatically designed to be able to propose some practical solutions in support of the introduction of a further and thus successful institutional reform as it has initiated by the 2012 Law on Higher Education.