Strangers next door?: Indonesia and Australia in the Asian century

There are no two neighbouring countries any where in the world that are more different than Indonesia and Australia.

They differ hugely in religion, language, culture, history, geography, race, economics, worldview and population (Indonesia, 270 million, Australia less than 10 per cent of that).

In fact, Indonesia and Australia have almost nothing in common other than the accident of geographic proximity.

This makes their relationship turbulent, volatile and often unpredictable. 'Strangers Next Door?' brings together insiders and leading observers to critically assess the state of Australia-Indonesia relations and their future prospects, offering insights into why the relationship is so important for Australia, why it is so often in crisis, and what this means for the future.