Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion
<p>The principle of unity in diversity in Indonesia is increasingly challenged by the rise of identity politics and populism. These dynamics emerge as a confluence of pragmatic political strategies and the mobilization of sectarian groups, often leveraging religious and ethnic...
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| Language: | English |
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Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan |
| Online Access: | https://scholarhub.uny.ac.id/civics/vol22/iss1/16 |
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| author | Firdaus Arifin Rosa Tedjabuwana Subelo Wiyono Mohd Kamarulnizam Abdullah |
| author_facet | Firdaus Arifin Rosa Tedjabuwana Subelo Wiyono Mohd Kamarulnizam Abdullah |
| author_sort | Firdaus Arifin |
| collection | DOAJ |
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<p>The principle of unity in diversity in Indonesia is increasingly challenged by the rise of identity politics and populism. These dynamics emerge as a confluence of pragmatic political strategies and the mobilization of sectarian groups, often leveraging religious and ethnic sentiments during election campaigns. While effective in garnering popular support, such tactics undermine national unity and social cohesion, serving as a shortcut to power at the cost of societal harmony. This issue is particularly pronounced in district head elections, where the politicization of tribal, religious, racial, and inter-community identities has become pervasive. These elections, intended to reflect democratic principles, are frequently overshadowed by divisive identity-based politics. This paper examines how identity politics and populism pose a significant threat to social cohesion, especially during general elections. Employing a normative research methodology, it analyzes legal norms and ethical theories to argue against the use of identity politics and populism at any level of political campaigns. The findings reveal that practical politics in Indonesia often relies on these divisive strategies for electoral success, exacerbating pre-existing societal tensions. The paper posits that identity politics can be overcome with reinterpreting it and referring Pancasila as principle to attain better policy.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d2b11d2d93284bdd85fcd2aa3633763f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2541-1918 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan |
| spelling | doaj-art-d2b11d2d93284bdd85fcd2aa3633763f2025-08-20T02:03:39ZengUniversitas Negeri YogyakartaJurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan2541-19182025-03-0122110.21831/jc.v22i1.1291Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesionFirdaus Arifin0Rosa Tedjabuwana1Subelo Wiyono2Mohd Kamarulnizam Abdullah3Universitas Pasundan, IndonesiaUniversitas Pasundan, IndonesiaUniversitas Pasundan, IndonesiaUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia <p>The principle of unity in diversity in Indonesia is increasingly challenged by the rise of identity politics and populism. These dynamics emerge as a confluence of pragmatic political strategies and the mobilization of sectarian groups, often leveraging religious and ethnic sentiments during election campaigns. While effective in garnering popular support, such tactics undermine national unity and social cohesion, serving as a shortcut to power at the cost of societal harmony. This issue is particularly pronounced in district head elections, where the politicization of tribal, religious, racial, and inter-community identities has become pervasive. These elections, intended to reflect democratic principles, are frequently overshadowed by divisive identity-based politics. This paper examines how identity politics and populism pose a significant threat to social cohesion, especially during general elections. Employing a normative research methodology, it analyzes legal norms and ethical theories to argue against the use of identity politics and populism at any level of political campaigns. The findings reveal that practical politics in Indonesia often relies on these divisive strategies for electoral success, exacerbating pre-existing societal tensions. The paper posits that identity politics can be overcome with reinterpreting it and referring Pancasila as principle to attain better policy.</p>https://scholarhub.uny.ac.id/civics/vol22/iss1/16 |
| spellingShingle | Firdaus Arifin Rosa Tedjabuwana Subelo Wiyono Mohd Kamarulnizam Abdullah Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan |
| title | Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion |
| title_full | Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion |
| title_fullStr | Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion |
| title_short | Indonesia's identity politics and populism: Disruption to national cohesion |
| title_sort | indonesia s identity politics and populism disruption to national cohesion |
| url | https://scholarhub.uny.ac.id/civics/vol22/iss1/16 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT firdausarifin indonesiasidentitypoliticsandpopulismdisruptiontonationalcohesion AT rosatedjabuwana indonesiasidentitypoliticsandpopulismdisruptiontonationalcohesion AT subelowiyono indonesiasidentitypoliticsandpopulismdisruptiontonationalcohesion AT mohdkamarulnizamabdullah indonesiasidentitypoliticsandpopulismdisruptiontonationalcohesion |