Conflict, Terrorism and Nation-Building

Terrorism has developed to the point where it is seen as an isolated, stand-alone phenomenon having no ties with other issues. “Terror which is simply for terror” becomes an attitude heavily installed by state institutions to alienate terror from its sympathizers. However, despite its potential to create destruction and fear, terrorism is recognized as an effective wake-up call indicating the potential for conflict to develop to become full-scale intense conflict. The issue of nationalism can also be consistently attached to the situation whereby certain countries find it difficult to overcome the threat of terror due to its popularity among their publics. 

This panel will cover issues where terrorism  is beyond the issue of technicalities, as well as the methods of producing fear among people. The capacity of terrorism to produce contestation toward the state, as well as to produce different ways of understanding nationalism will be intensively discussed.

• ICSPI UI 2018 Conflict, Terrorism, and Nation Building, Universitas Indonesia

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Identity Politics, Citizenship and Nationalism

After 20 years of political transition, Indonesia is still struggling with its democratic quality. Despite its success in installing democratic institutions, Indonesia’s democracy is still greatly challenged by lingering problems of authoritarian legacies. Political corruption, dysfunctional political parties, oligarchies and political dynasties are among the problematic challenges in improving the quality of Indonesia's democracy.

While these problems remain, recently, Indonesia’s democracy is also dealing with the new but globally rising  phenomenon  of populism and identity politics. It particularly began in Indonesia with the 2014 presidential election and culminated in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. Issues of religion and ethnicity were used and mobilized by politicians and political parties in order to gain popular votes. Not only have these issues greatly shaped the election process and results, they have also divided the society politically. If not given consideration and careful handling, the rise of identity politics will put democracy and social cohesion at risk.

In the context of democratic consolidation and the improvement of democratic quality, it will be especially important to assess the penetration of these phenomena throughout the Indonesian political landscape. Given this discussion, it is thus important to understand these phenomena since it is apparent that the consequences of the rise of identity politics continue to play out and they are likely to be profound.

This panel will address issues related to identity politics, populism, citizenship and nationalism. This panel is open to discuss theoretical aspects and empirical studies, as well as comparative analyses of other countries in comparison with the situation in Indonesia.

• ICSPI UI 2018 Identity Politics, Citizenship and Nationalism, Universitas Indonesia

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Transnationalism, Globalization and Nationalism

The big issues in Indonesian nationalism today are related to the term of transnationalism and globalization. Transnationalism, as defined by Basch et al (1994), is “a process by which migrants, through their daily life activities create social fields that cross national boundaries”. We can think about transnationalism in two ways: transnationalism from above - corporations, transnational capital and global media, and transnationalism from below -the informal economy (remittances), the shadow economy (illicit, drugs, etc) and ethnic nationalism. The meaning of transnationalism is intertwined with globalization.

Today, no single country can make policy on its own irrespective of others. Every nation is linked to a global network; interrelations and inter-influence are transferred and adapted. Bilateral relationships between two countries cannot occur without considering the current global economy or geo-politics. Connections are also evidenced in the flows of goods, and humans and information have increasingly become mobilized across the world. Globalization has made the world busy and sometime hectic. Moreover, it does not only influence the macro level, but also the societal level, even at the level of families or institutions (Fukuyama, 2000). Shocks are experienced by people who do not anticipate or adapt to the huge changes caused by globalization (Toffler, 1970),and the clash of different cultures cannot be denied (Huntington, 1998). Digitalization as the latest technological development has been boosting transnationalism in the context of globalization and changed the mindset and habits of almost every individual, community and state policy.

Sub-themes of this panel are: the nation-state challenged by economic globalization, multi-lateral political agreements, and multiculturalism; the spread of identity and cultural models; the transfer of cultural practices, social cohesion and national integration; multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation states; cross-border relationships, exchanges, affiliations (kin and social),loyalties- social formations spanning nation-state's, and non-government actors such as aid providers; diaspora and migrant transnationalism, and homeland-oriented political activity.

• ICSPI UI 2018 Transnationalism, Globalization and Nationalism, Universitas Indonesia

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Nationalism in the Digital Era

The digital era that we find today has changed people’s way of communicating, connecting, interacting and relating with each other. With almost everything becoming digital, people’s way of using communication technology in the “here and now” era has changed drastically from the conventional to the innovative. With the advent of communication technology innovations that herald new or convergent media eras, there is likely no coming back for older kinds of technology.

Through the media, particularly in this new age of internet connectedness, dominated by new communication technology, more commonly called new media, the public at large can receive or follow all kinds of information, either about recent news, ideas, ideologies, trends or tastes. The list is endless. With this information, the public can then make decisions important for their survival, some of which are based on their social constructions and foundational concepts or life events in their surroundings.

To focus on nationalism as the main theme of this conference, new digital media has been the core topic of various studies, research activities and discussions, particularly in relation to its role in generating and forming the meaning and sense of the concept among the public. Following some references about the definitions of nationalism, in general it can be deduced as something that is closely related to the idea of the nation, national identity, nationhood, national loyalty, sovereignty, patriotism, national supremacy, and ethno-cultural membership.

It is expected that in this conference, specific discussions on nationalism in the digital era will center around questions or issues such as: (1) the role of the new convergent media in building a sense of nationalism among the public, and (2) how do audiences, consumers, or what are now called prosumers, construct the concept of nationalism? Of course other issues can arise concerning digital nationalism, and thus the list of topics is not just limited to these problems or questions.

• ICSPI UI Nationalism in the Digital Era, Universitas Indonesia

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Social Justice and Social Well-Being

Social justice and social well-being are significant issues related to nationalism. Social justice is defined as the equal distribution of resources and opportunities which involves the fair treatment of people at the local and regional level as well as regulations that purposefully discriminate against people based on their differences. Social justice is the concept of fair and just relations between the individual and society.

This is measured by explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges. The issues of social justice are a result of unequal wealth and resource distribution, and unfair treatment of individuals with different traits and laws that support segregation.

Social well-being, according to the United States Institute of Peace, is an end state in which basic human needs are met and people are able to coexist peacefully in communities with opportunities for advancement. This end state is characterized by equal access to, and delivery of basic needs services (water, food, shelter and health services), the provision of primary and secondary education, the return or resettlement of those displaced by violent conflict, and the restoration of social fabric and community life. Social well-being is also the positive state of relationships, social stability and social peace, which involves an individual's relationships with others. It consists of the way people communicate, interact and socialize with one another.

This session will discuss the impact of social justice and social well-being issues on the formation of nationalism at the individual, group, community, regional and national levels.

• ICSPI UI 2018 Social Justice and Social Well-Being, Universitas Indonesia

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Peer Reviewed

Nationalism and Social Movements

In much of the world, nationalism is currently identified with repressive regimes and backward-looking populist politics. What has become of the classic understandings of nationalism as a moral conscience that transforms society, or as a social movement that claims access to political institutions in the name of freedom and equal rights? In order to address this question, the panel aims to explore the role of the ideas, feelings and narratives of the nation in mobilizing social movements and publics in Indonesia and elsewhere. These movements and publics are not necessarily of national scale. Nationalism is also relevant as a framework of political action that focuses on local, provincial, or ethnic affairs. It provides a repertoire of skills, behaviors, and symbols that is useful for organizing work activities, student groups, public events and protest movements. In such contexts, nationalism (much like religion, ethnic culture and various global connections) helps people imagine a public world of belonging and participation.

We invite participants to approach nationalism as one element of the dynamics of modern society: not as a monolithic narrative or ideology, but as a horizon of meaning and a resource for engaging people in social movements. Underlying this approach is a theoretical question: what counts as a social movement? Recent debate has emphasized a processual view in which movements arise from “mobilizing structures” (social networks and formal organizations), but it is debated whether these structures pre-exist the movement, or are created by its organizers. If nationalism is a way of framing political events, movements, and identities, it is possible to see it as a source of agency – and not just a passive subjection to power.

The themes and case studies covered by the participants might include: (1) nationally aligned rhetorics and actions among movements for resource rights, fair labor conditions, or cultural autonomy; (2) political campaigns that appeal to nationalist sentiments; (3) corporatist social forms, such as workplace cooperatives, and the political actions they make possible; (3) celebration and contestation of the symbols of national history, such as monumental sites or national heroes; (4) gestures and language that express national virtues, such as civility, equality or tolerance; (5) the use of the national language in addressing a public in such contexts as education, religious observance, or public service.

This is not an exhaustive list of possible ethnographic topics for this panel. We welcome other ethnographic case-studies that reveal how nationalism intersects with local, ethnic, religious, and other concerns. What role does nationalism play in generating authority and in resolving conflicts and disputes? To what extent is nationalism tied with involvement with the state, and how does it manifest itself in peripheries and frontiers where state institutions are not directly present?

• ICSPI UI 2018 Nationalism and Social Movements, Universitas Indonesia

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Peer Reviewed

Gender and Nationalism

How does gender matter in nationalism? Literature on the subject of nationalism has largely ignored gender as an analytical category. This theme - gender and nationalism - will be analysed through feminist lenses and by feminist scholars with various backgrounds in social sciences and gender studies.

This theme highlights the central role of women in nationalism and nationalist movements and debates whether nationalism as an ideology that domesticates or emancipates women. Other topics on gender and nationalism include the ways the discourse on nationalism intersects with those of femininity and masculinity and how an identity as a man or women takes form through nationalist discourse and (re)produces national identity.

The expected topics of discussion on gender and nationalism are: (1) the role of women and  nationalism and nationalist movements for independence in Indonesia or other countries(as a comparison); (2) gender identity, national identity and modernization: does nationalism domesticate or emancipate women? (3) Relations between nation, culture and gender; and (4) how masculinity is relevant for understanding the discourse on nationalism.

• Ani Soetjipto, FISIP, Universitas Indonesia

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Peer Reviewed