F. Bernard Loesi

Bernard’s research interests include resistance movement, violent extremism, soft power, security, and the intersection of Middle East and Southeast Asia in Salafi-Jihadism ideology.

He studies how certain individuals seek social change through the use of violence after they undergo radicalization process. He specifically examines how some of Islamist militants in Indonesia decide to turn away from radical doctrines, abandon their militant networks, and renounce violence, or what is understood as being deradicalized. He intends to investigate what sort of soft power, if any, that contributes to the deradicalization process. He is also interested to test the findings of his research if they correspond to the white supremacist movement in the U.S.

Bernard has been a foreign service officer at the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry since 2003, with most of his domestic and overseas assignments in information and public diplomacy areas. He earned his BA in International Relations from Universitas Jayabaya in Jakarta and his Master in Public Administration from Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City, Philippines.

GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS

• Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education, Indonesian Ministry of Finance, 2018.
• Charles and Jane Keyes Award, Southeast Asia Center – University of Washington, 2020.
• The Christen J. Grorud Endowed Memorial Fellowship, Southeast Asia Center – University of Washington, 2020.