The Slovakian “Inspirasi” for Indonesian Nuclear Power: The “Success” of a Permanently Failing Organization

The Indonesian national nuclear power agency (BATAN) is a classic example of a permanently failing organization that survives due to external support and frequent announcements of imminent construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP). Between 2009 and 2013 BATAN claimed the Slovakian nuclear power industry as its mentoring partner and inspiration in building an NPP in Bangka-Belitung. BATAN failed to mention the scandal-ridden state of the now foreign-owned Slovakian nuclear industry, its catastrophic past, and its nonexistent construction capacity. The Slovakia/Bangka campaign, baseless though it was in reality, functioned as a kind of informational fog of fantasy that deflected attention from domestic critics of an Indonesian nuclear program.