Diasporas and transnational communities have attracted much academic attention
in the past three decades, and the resulting stream of literature is not diminishing.
The Indonesian diaspora is by no means at the centre of global academic attention.
There have been, however, noticeable changes in Indonesia since the first Congress
of Indonesian Diaspora was held in 2012, and the Indonesian Diaspora Desk,
headed at the ambassadorial level, was established in 2013. While the Desk has
focused on the potential future economic contributors to Indonesia, subsequent
Indonesian Diaspora Congresses have concentrated on the historical diaspora and
people of ‘Malay stock’.