Despite the pragmatic character of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s foreign policy and the regression of the country’s democracy index, Indonesia remains eager for the continuation of Bali Democracy Forum (BDF). This article aims to solve this apparent contradiction using the concept of middle power diplomacy. This article argues that, in contrast to his predecessor, Widodo does not perceive BDF as an instrument to promote or project democracy abroad. Rather, Widodo considers the BDF to accentuate Indonesia’s leadership role in multilateral fora. This ‘middlepowermanship’ challenges the elite-based approach in explaining Indonesia’s foreign policy, which puts a strong emphasis on Jokowi’s personal character traits. The continuation of the BDF under Widodo reflects Indonesia’s default thinking of its status as a middle power.

中文翻译：

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既不促进也不投射民主：印度尼西亚在佐科维多多领导下的巴厘岛民主论坛中的中间力量

尽管印尼总统佐科维多多的外交政策具有务实的特点，而且该国的民主指数正在倒退，但印尼仍然渴望巴厘岛民主论坛（BDF）的延续。本文旨在利用中等强国外交的概念来解决这一明显的矛盾。本文认为，与他的前任相比，维多多并不认为 BDF 是在国外促进或投射民主的工具。相反，Widodo 认为 BDF 强调印度尼西亚在多边论坛中的领导作用。这种“中层权力”挑战了以精英为基础的方法来解释印度尼西亚的外交政策，后者非常强调佐科维的个人性格特征。维多多领导下 BDF 的延续反映了印度尼西亚对其中等强国地位的默认想法。