Activism In Indonesia Research Articles

Islamic activism in Indonesia and its representation by Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah organizations

The article analyzes the phenomenon of Islamic activism in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, broadcast by the country's leading Islamic organizations.The phenomenon of Islamic activism originated in the middle of the XIX century under the influence of the intervention of Western countries into Islamic regions. Islamic activism as a phenomenon is still not structured, but is a reaction of Muslim society to the challenges of the world. Islamic activism affects absolutely all spheres of human life, from the organization of interest groups to global politics. One of the main properties of Islamic activism is the emergence of large religious organizations that are the conductors of ideologies peculiar to the region where the organization appeared. A striking example is the Islamic organization Nahdatul Ulama, which, unfortunately, is not as studied by domestic researchers as others. The social transformations she has brought to Indonesian and world society through the promotion of Islamic social, political and economic activism are also poorly understood.

Assimilation and Transgression: Doing Trans* Activism in Indonesia and Iran

ABSTRACT This commentary engages with Jón Ingvar Kjaran and Zara Saeidzadeh’s research article, “Trans* Activism in Indonesia and Iran: Working Against Misrecognition and Enhancing the Intelligibility of Trans* Subjectivities.” The authors examine the conditions and form trans* activism takes in “doing” gender in Muslim-dominated societies of Indonesia and Iran. It is argued that trans* experience interacts with Islamic norms to persist in gaining intelligibility and recognition, challenging the existing medico-religious discourse in Islamic societies, as well as liberal humanist intellectual traditions of the West. Trans* activism in Indonesia and Iran, therefore, reveals a complex inquiry in locating hospitality at the borders where trans identity and Islam meet.

On being LGBT-affirming pentecostals: exploring affirming resources from within Indonesian pentecostal churches

ABSTRACT LGBT Christian activism in Indonesia was initiated by progressive wings within ecumenical denominations, while backlashes were mostly voiced by evangelical groups. Disrupting such a binary, we interviewed affirming Pentecostal church leaders and members (both LGBT persons and allies) to explore theological, discursive, and congregational resources that were drawn upon to constitute an affirming evangelical position. While previous studies in the West have paid significant attention to theological reinterpretations of texts and traditions, our findings demonstrated that there are other contextual resources to explore, both at the personal, communal, and institutional levels which may support an affirming subjectivity for allies and LGBT persons themselves. Three resources were identified in this study, namely, a strong sense of personal moral agency, the tight-knit church community, and the self-governed, market-driven church institution. The implications of the study are discussed in relation to Pentecostal theologies and LGBT Christian activism in contemporary Indonesia.

The politics of anti-plastics activism in Indonesia and Malaysia

AbstractResearch on anti-plastics activism in Indonesia and Malaysia, although increasing somewhat in recent years, is sparse and patchy. Interviews with local activists and a review of the existing literature, however, does suggest this activism is intensifying. Activists are educating people of the health and ecological risks of plastics, and operating nonprofit organizations to recycle and repurpose plastics. They are organizing cleanups and advocating for marginalized waste workers. And they are lobbying governments for stricter regulations, exposing illegal operations, and building transnational advocacy networks. Collectively, these strands of activism appear to have the potential to aggregate eco-actions and decrease plastic pollution. In the coming years, however, given the power of the global plastics industry and the nature of politics within Indonesia and Malaysia, pro-plastics corporations and industry allies are likely going to increasingly contest anti-plastics narratives and strive to undermine efforts to address the root causes of plastic pollution, including rising sales of single-use plastics by transnational corporations, the dumping and burning of unrecyclable plastics from high-income countries, and inadequate waste infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. Further research on how this politics is affecting the power and effectiveness of anti-plastics activism, the article concludes, is going to be essential for improving plastics governance.

The Potentials and Limits of Fandom-based Charitable Activism in Indonesia

Fandom-based social movement, particularly charitable activism, has become increasingly widespread globally in today's digital era. The digital platform plays a massive role in the emergence of a new crowdfunding trend. This study aims to examine the potential and limitations of fandom-based charitable activism in Indonesia and to what extent this activism plays a role in empowering marginalized communities. This research employed a qualitative approach based on secondary data collected from several sources. This article finds that high loyalty and solidity positively correlate with the level of fan involvement in contributing to charitable activities. The youth's dominance and attachment to technology and social media potentially make this movement a broader and long-term impact. However, these activities tend to be sporadic and have not yet addressed the specific issues of marginalized communities. Also, the dependence of fans on the existence of their idols is a challenge for this movement.

SOLIDARITY FOR MYANMAR: #MILKTEAALLIANCE INDONESIA’S TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVISM IN PRESSURING THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA AND ASEAN

The military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, carried out by the Tatmadaw against top officials from the newly elected-government–in which National League for Democracy (NLD) Party made the majority–brought strong backlashes from civil society, one of which was the Milk Tea Alliance. This paper discusses the activism of Milk Tea Alliance Indonesia in pressuring the Indonesian government and ASEAN, especially during the ASEAN Special Summit. This paper is based on qualitative method using literature review on the case study of Milk Tea Alliance activism in Indonesia. By referring to the ‘Boomerang pattern’ framework on transnational advocacy network, this paper argues that the Milk Tea Alliance represents a valuable model in South-South civil society cooperation due to the multiplicity of channels, actor form, and issues. Therefore, it plays an essential role in decolonizing the unequal North-South relations in the initial concept of Keck & Sikkink. Furthermore, this article also exposes the role of regional norms in influencing the ‘boomerang pattern,’ making it difficult for the solidarity to push ASEAN & Indonesian government as the de-facto leader of ASEAN to act stricter on Tatmadaw.

The Masyumi Networks and the Proliferation of Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia (1945–1965)

Abstract This article addresses the roles played by Masyumi political leaders in fuelling dakwah activism in Indonesia and energizing the inception and proliferation of Islamic higher education institutions before and after the political turmoil faced by the Masyumi party. Islamic politics and education in Indonesia were intermingled and utilized by Masyumi leaders to promote Islam, foster the dignity of the ummah (Muslim community), and achieve Maysumi’s political vision via non-political activism. Using social-structure networks analysis, this article argues that the Masyumi networks and the spirit of Islamic modernism accelerated the spread of Islamic higher education in Indonesia, especially from 1945–1965. The Masyumi networks consisted of Muslim politicians, the intelligentsia, technocrats, noble families, and businesspeople.

The limits of civil society activism in Indonesia: the case of the weakening of the KPK

ABSTRACT This paper examines the limits of Indonesian civil society activism in advancing democratic politics. This activism, mainly by middle-class reformers, has not only failed to prevent democracy from being hijacked by illiberal interests but also contributed to justifying the deepening of political illiberalism. A predominantly anti-political approach among civil society activists mainly aims to establish new institutions and policy designs to generate reforms, while allowing entrenched power relations to remain unchallenged and to pervade new institutions. Meanwhile, social protests mobilized by this kind of activism, both on the streets and social media platforms, also tend to be sporadic and have no clear leadership and structure, while protest demands are often contradictory, making these too weak to challenge anti-democratic interests. This paper challenges existing studies that extoll Indonesian civil society activists for their success in advocating certain legislation, policies, and institutions. The weakening of the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, KPK) illustrates how even trusted democratic institutions equipped with extraordinary powers and capacities are vulnerable to vested interests. Not only have Indonesian civil society activists failed to defend the KPK, but many of them have justified attempts to paralyze this agency.

Can Affordable Homes be Healthy? Legal Strategy, Socio-Legal Studies and Activism in Indonesia

This article uses two Constitutional Court decisions in Indonesia to exemplify the importance of analysing legal strategies. These decisions declared a rule barring developers from building and selling tiny houses to be unconstitutional and invalid. The article shows that ‘justice’ in legal procedures still needs further definition, and that judges’ elaboration of decisions and their legal reasoning still needs improvement. The article will first discuss the cases, using Legal Strategy analysis. It will then highlight problems with the commoditisation of houses. Finally, it will argue that the problem of unhealthy and unaffordable housing in Indonesia can be resolved, by bringing together activists and researchers in a joint enterprise and tackling the issue as a collective societal project. In turn, socio-legal scholars need to keep including in-depth analysis of case law as one of the foundations of their work in law and society development.

Land-Use Change Conflicts and Anti-Corporate Activism in Indonesia: A Review Essay

AbstractWhile processes of land-use change have triggered conflicts across Asia, our knowledge of the responses of affected communities is largely based on case-studies. This review essay addresses this challenge by reviewing and synthesizing 49 studies of conflicts between rural communities and companies in order to identify salient characteristics of anti-corporate activism in Indonesia. We find that, in contrast to the ‘rightful resistance’ observed elsewhere, the strategies employed by rural communities in Indonesia are remarkably “rightless” as both their discourse and their conflict resolution efforts are marked by a remarkable irrelevance of laws, regulations and courts. Communities frame their claims mostly in terms of customary laws while largely relying on informal mediation by local authorities. We attribute this “rightless” character of land-use change conflicts to the weak legal protection of land rights in Indonesia and the relative powerlessness of communities in the face of collusion between authorities and companies.

Concert and Charity: Operating Da’wah Activism through Maher Zain’s Pop Culture Industry

Maher Zain is an icon of Islamic pop culture with the largest market share in the world. Indonesia constitutes the largest Maher Zain's fan base with multiple platinum awards and recorded million copies of album sale. Maher Zain's rise to fame coincided with the shifting of conventional Islamic authority, which turned from Kiai or Ulama to popular Muslim preachers. These preachers seek aspirations of Islamism in social and political movements through the da’wah institutions they lead. This article is aimed to examine the intersection between the Islamic pop culture industry, Maher Zain as a leading Muslim singer icon, and the strategies of Islamic activism of da’wah in Indonesia. This research found that popular preachers utilize their charitable activities, philanthropy and Islamic da'wah to legitimize and capitalize on Maher Zain's popularity in Indonesia, by playing role in the capitalistic mechanism of the Islamic music industry. These da'wah institutions operate through industrial mechanisms for the benefit of Islamic da'wah activism in Indonesia and even become an advantage in the midst of the struggle for political Islam in Indonesia.

Penggunaan Media Sosial Dalam Penyebaran Narasi Hak Asasi Manusia Di Indonesia

This research looks into the kinds of social media used in human rights activism in Indonesia. To analyze social media data, Nvivo 12Plus as a qualitative data analysis software is used. The findings show that: 1) The social media content and related discussions on citizen’s rights are dominated by human rights content; 2) activists’ social media accounts are connected, and the relationship is strong, which can be seen in 0,7 Lower limit; 3) narration in social media spreads using the acronym HAM (Hak Asasi Manusia [Human Rights]). To strengthen similar research in this area, social media data might be combined with digital data like the online newspapers. In addition, the comparison with another case and/or another country may give new novelty of the research.

Digital feminist activism: Analyzing Jakarta Feminist as a collective identity, resources, network, information dissemination, and mobilization

The use of social media for feminist activism in Indonesia has increased in decades. Some studies have mentioned digital feminist activism as the three intersectional relations of collective agenda, civic network, and digital infrastructure. To deepen, this study aims to analyze digital feminist activism works to organize collective identities, develop resources, coordinate networks, disseminate information, and mobilize social actors, in the case of Jakarta Feminist through a qualitative approach combined with social and textual network analysis. As a result, the Jakarta Feminist collective’s identity formed based on their identities, concerns, and defaces to the right of all Indonesian women, and other minorities group succeeded in developing resources in the form of moral, cultural, material, human, and network. Jakarta Feminist disseminated activism information by using social media features, and their members’ ties. Mobilized actors by conducting internal group planning, themes, and hashtags, boosted by social media personalities digital campaigns, individual and cross-organization. This study concluded that feminist digital activism running by the combination of their work in online and offline spheres. The cross-sectional interrelated of feminist activism to other issues, movements, and entities are interesting topics for future research.

Shareholder activism in Indonesia: revisiting shareholder rights implementation and future challenges

PurposeThis paper aims to elaborate on the extent to which the Indonesian legal framework has provided room for shareholder activism and the extent to which shareholder activism has been implemented in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThis study combines normative and empirical legal research methods. Indonesian laws and regulations are analyzed aside from the analysis of empirical data and court decisions on shareholder activism implementation.FindingsIndonesian laws and regulations have accommodated shareholders’ activism and shareholders have started to rectify mismanagement and abuse of power that causes loss to the company through derivative lawsuits. Despite this, Indonesian shareholders are still passive, shown by the number of questions asked in the general meetings of shareholders despite the high attendance percentage. Shareholders have also formed associations to gather more influence on the company’s decision-making process.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical observation in this study was limited to LQ45 companies of the February to July 2021 period. This study can be useful to improve corporate governance and corporate communication in a company to encourage higher participation of individual/minority shareholders. This study also serves as an extension to numerous studies on shareholder protection, corporate governance and corporate law in Indonesia.Originality/valueStudy on shareholder activism in Indonesia is still rare, despite the rising urgency of company supervision and monitoring to prevent mismanagement. To fill in that gap, this research hopes to initiate discussion on shareholder activism in relation to shareholder protection, corporate governance and corporate law implementation.

Informal politics and local labor activism in Indonesia

ABSTRACT While studies on local labor activism in Indonesia have blossomed in recent years, they rarely look at the role played by informal politics. Using a case study at the grassroots level in Makassar that focuses on industrial relations, we look to start filling this gap. We explore how labor activism in industrial situations, such as factory strikes and protests, has evolved under informal political circumstances. We find that these relations are dominant and highly significant for influencing labor activism at the local level. Moreover, we find the emergence of informal politics is mainly influenced by the fragmentation of labor unions, the personalism of labor leadership, and the pragmatism of union officials and workers. All of these tend to trigger informal political participation, such as brokerage, illegality, and kinship, that can overshadow local labor activism in factories. We conclude with a discussion of how the influence of informal politics has weakened labor activism at the local level and ways to distinguish the patterns, characteristics, and vulnerabilities of workers in industrial relations.

Exploring Youth Political Participation: K-Pop Fan Activism in Indonesia and Thailand

This paper explores K-pop fans political participation by looking at recent fan activism that happened in Indonesia and Thailand. Since the US fans participation in BLM campaign and ‘sabotaging’ of Trump’s Tulsa campaign rally, the K-pop fans community has made headlines on mainstream media as part of contemporary political discourse. Similar situation is also encountered in Southeast Asia where Korean popular culture has been consumed for decades and has large following. K-pop fans in Indonesia and Thailand have participated in various forms of activism supporting humanitarian causes through donations, criticizing new laws, or protesting against the government. Focusing on four key areas of analysis: the intersection between cultural and civic/political participation, the tension between participation and resistance, affect and collective identity, and impacts; this paper aims to explain how fandom may act as a powerful force that bridges cultural consumption and political participation amongst youths in the era of media convergence.

New Forms of Political Activism in Indonesia

This article argues that new personality-centric movements have redefined the nexus between activism and electoral politics in Indonesia. It illustrates how these movements have challenged the role of political parties and consultants in electoral campaigning, and how their growing prominence may affect the future trajectory of Indonesian politics.

PERANAN CYBERSPACE SEBAGAI PEMBENTUK AKTIVISME POLITIK INTERNET DI INDONESIA

The development of science and technology gives the impact in the change of perspective and activities of citizens in communicating. Cyberspace phenomenon or called the virtual world would result in narrowing space, time, and distance so that they are connected to each other. Increasingly internet users in Indonesia need to be utilized as a container in expressing interests, critics and be a public discussion space. As citizens, Internet political activism needs to be positioned as demos for countervailing and supervising the state. In the democracy aspect, the utilization of internet technology becomes a solution for civil society movement. Penetration by social media users in the cyberspace is able to encourage the deliberation of democratic values such as voluntarism, egalitarianism, or networking in contemporary democratic conditions. This paper aims to deepen and add insight about the role of Cyberspace as the form of Internet Political Activism in Indonesia. The method of this research is library research by collecting some related references. Thus, it will improve the knowledge about the role of Cyberspace as the form of internet political activism in Indonesia.

‘Being young and LGBT, what could be worse?’ Analysis of youth LGBT activism in Indonesia: challenges and ways forward

ABSTRACTYoung Indonesian LGBT people are currently mobilising against a wave of conservatism and violence in an increasingly anti-LGBT context. Young LGBT people are showing remarkable courage and strategic thinking and mobilising in a range of ways. These include grassroot peer support, advocacy, and partnerships with government, adult-led non-government organisations and the private sector. However, these youth also face multiple challenges. This article highlights findings from a 2016 study of mobilisation by youth LGBT activists, using in-depth feminist qualitative research methods. The aim of the research was to highlight the resilience of young LGBT people in Indonesia, the barriers they face, and to consider what feminists and development policymakers and practitioners can do to support them.

Exposing Impunity: Memory and Human Rights Activism in Indonesia and Argentina

ABSTRACTThis article examines the impact of a new sustained focus in Indonesian human rights activism on connecting historical experiences of violence to ongoing impunity, in order to assess what forms of memory activism are effective in breaking a justice impasse. It does so by using the much more successful case of Argentinian human rights activism for justice for the 1976–83 repression as a point of comparison. Soon after the end of authoritarian rule, Argentinians held a truth commission and trials of key military leaders. Then, following a period of stalled justice, activists were able to create a new societal consensus on the need for further redress including extended trials. In Indonesia, meanwhile, a proposed truth commission was abandoned and there have been no trials of military leaders, and no other forms of redress initiated by the government for this case. Despite the limitations of almost all justice measures in fully addressing past human rights crimes, the lack of use of any measures acceptable to victims of the violence signals that the Indonesian government does not consider such cases pressing enough. In order to assess how activists might move such cases back onto a national agenda, my analysis focuses on the Argentinian group H.I.J.O.S. (Hijos por la Identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y el Silencio/Children for Identity and Justice against Forgetting and Silence), whose members led a successful campaign for a resumption of trials. I compare the similar emphasis in their activism on exposing impunity to that in the work of the Indonesian group KKPK (Koalisi Keadilan dan Pengungkapan Kebenaran/Coalition for Justice and Truth). I assess their efforts alongside the different political contexts of both countries, arguing that a focus on impunity may be crucial in cracking impasses in justice measures.