Rate My Professor Ian Wilson

Dr Ian Wilson is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Murdoch University’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, a position he has held since joining the institution in 2004. As a proud Murdoch graduate, he earned his Bachelor of Arts with honours in Asian Studies and completed his PhD in 2003, examining the history and politics of pencak silat. Currently, he serves as Academic Chair of the university’s Global Security program and holds fellowships as a Principal Fellow at the Indo-Pacific Research Centre and a Research Fellow at the Asia Research Centre. Wilson’s academic interests focus on the interplay of power, violence, and representation in Southeast Asian politics and society. His pioneering research on preman—gangsters or thugs in Indonesia—explores how coercive practices underpin authority and street-level politics in the post-New Order era. He also investigates the politics of poverty, analyzing how urban poor and marginalized groups navigate unequal social relations through strategic political engagement, often collaborating on Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grants.

Among his notable publications are the book The Politics of Protection Rackets in Post-New Order Indonesia: Coercive Capital, Authority and Street Politics (2015), published in Indonesian translation in 2019 and widely discussed at public events attended by hundreds; Poor People’s Politics in Urban Southeast Asia (2020); Morality Racketeering: Vigilantism and Populist Islamic Militancy in Indonesia (2015); Resisting Democracy: Front Pembela Islam and Indonesia’s 2014 Elections (2015); and Jakarta: Inequality and the Poverty of Elite Pluralism. Wilson’s scholarship has significantly influenced academic discourse and public policy debates on Indonesian politics, including gubernatorial elections in Jakarta. Before his academic career, he represented Australia at the 2001 Pencak Silat World Championships. His contributions extend to expert commentary, public lectures, and keynote addresses on Southeast Asian security and politics.