Alexander R Arifianto is a Research Fellow with the Indonesia Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He obtained his PhD in political science from Arizona State University. His research expertise is contemporary Indonesian politics, comparative Islamic parties and social movements in Southeast Asia. He has published articles in blogs such as Indonesia at Melbourne, New Mandala, East Asia Forum, The Conversation, and The Diplomat.