Report on the 12th International Conference of Business, International Relations, and Diplomacy (ICOBIRD 2023)

Jakarta – On Thursday 16 November 2023, the 12th International Conference of Business, International Relations, and Diplomacy (ICOBIRD) was held with the theme “Toward Global IR Debate in Indonesia: Theoretical Conception and Thoughts” which was held online via the Zoom platform. The conference, which was hosted by two HI BINUS student MCs, namely Jenisse Lystin and Gilang Fata Syabana, started at 10 am Western Indonesian time.

Dr. Rangga Aditya, the Chair of the Department of International Relations at Business University, delivered the opening remarks, emphasizing the conference’s focus on diversifying theoretical perspectives in international relations and moving beyond traditional Western paradigms. Opening remarks from BINUS University were also given by Prof Tirta Mursitama as Vice Rector of Collaboration and Global Engagement and Prof Juneman Abraham, as Vice Rector of Research and Technology Transfer.

The session continued with a Keynote Session by Prof. Aleksius Jemadu, professor of IR from Pelita Harapan University, followed by Prof Xu Liping, professor of IR from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The conference itself received an overwhelming response with 58 papers accepted for presentation.

Deepening Understanding of Global IR Debates

In his Keynote Session, Prof Jemadu discussed the need for the Indonesian community of International Relations (IR) scholars to deepen their understanding of global Ir debates and move beyond the idea of the primacy of their distinct historicity and cultural context. He stressed that the current debates on global IR are not deep enough to problematize or interrogate the issue of human equality or emancipation, which should be the starting point of any discussion of the central mission of liberating the non-Western world from cognitive occupation. Prof Jemadu argued that to accomplish this, there is a need to challenge the domination of the philosophy of Nominalism, which has led to the pervasive influence of subjectivism in our understanding of critical issues like human rights and global justice.

He proposed revitalizing the ancient notion of Platonic and Aristotelian Universalism, which looks at human rights as something real, objective, and not a subjective judgment. Prof Jemadu concluded by emphasizing that the first and foremost loyalty should not be to history or culture but to the commonality and objectivity of our humanness, which is our license to use the word ‘humankind’ or ‘human race’.

Philosophical Concepts and Emancipation

Prof Jemadu continues to discuss the philosophical concepts of Nominalism and Universalism and their effects on various philosophical and sociological tasks. He emphasized the importance of embracing the philosophy of Universalism for promoting genuine emancipation and human equality. Prof Jemadu also highlighted the significance of going beyond generalizable propositions to embrace the objectivity of the intrinsic worth of human beings. He illustrated his points with examples of international conflict and the Ukraine-Russia war, emphasizing the need for a common understanding of moral authority to solve subject division.

Philosophical Foundations of IR and Changing International Landscape

Prof Jemadu then discussed the philosophical foundations of international relations, focusing on the ideas of Plato and Aristotle. He emphasized the importance of objective universals and the formal cause of human beings, arguing that these concepts exist independent of and prior to subjective judgments. He also called for a more philosophical search for the objective or intrinsic word of human being in the study of IR. The keynote speech by Professor Xu Liping focused on the changes in the international landscape and the role of Indonesia in regional and global affairs. He highlighted the impact of globalization, the rise of emerging powers, and the development of a mobile, balanced international power structure. He also discussed the pursuit of development and rejuvenation by countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the increasing influence of these countries in global governance.

Watch the entire Keynote Session here on YouTube.

 IR BINUS Best Thesis Award 2023

Along with the ICOBIRD 2023 conference, the International Relations Department of BINUS University also announced the “IR BINUS Best Thesis Award 2023”. The Best Thesis Award 2023 was an award for Binus International Relations students who finished their thesis during the odd or even semester of 2022/2023 academic year and whose thesis papers were submitted to ICOBIRD 2023. The result was announced after the keynote session of ICOBIRD 2023. Read the complete recap of the winners here.

 Parallel Sessions

After lunch, in the parallel sessions, ICOBIRD 2023 presents a number of sessions that run simultaneously in a number of breakout rooms. In these sessions, the presenters took turns presenting their research and continued with a panel discussion session.