Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik
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Polarization of Indonesian Society during 2014-2020: Causes and Its Impacts toward Democracy
Full text linkPolarization was widely used in a large number of publications on Indonesian political studies from 2014 to 2020. This term particularly refers to the divisive society condition because of different political preferences. Previously, polarization is rare to use to frame Indonesian electoral competition since both parties and candidates counted on ideological spectrum. Since the personalization of politics have been flourishing recently, it drives identity to be marker when it comes to evaluating the candidates. This condition, consequently, makes the election is not merely political competition for power but emotional competition for lives. For the last six years, there were three major elections, including the 2014 Presidential Election, 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election, and 2019 Presidential Election. These three elections had a significant factor in polarizing society at that given time. They specifically referred to the two leading figures that represented the two stark political identity symbols. However, after 2018, the polarization of society itself seemed under control since the ruling regime coalitions and their social groups and allies worked together. It was meant to manage the effect of polarization and also to corner the opposition groups. While the clashes of views still exist, the situation would be worse if the 3 elections had not happened
Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan: The State Dilemma and People’s Realities
Full text linkThe role of migrant workers is frequently marginalized amid industrial development, labor shortages, and the domination of state to state arrangements. In fact, the position of migrant workers should be considered as a primary factor in bilateral relations and trade agreements, notably between Indonesia and Taiwan. The reason is that the influx of migrant workers has undoubtedly given many benefits to both Indonesia and Taiwan governments. The Indonesian government considered that in the midst of insufficient job opportunities, migrant workers working in Taiwan indirectly lowered the unemployment rate. In addition, Indonesia acknowledged the high contribution of migrant workers by remittances to national income. At the same time, Taiwan recognized the importance of Indonesian migrant workers in the national economy, as well as strengthening Taiwan’s second-track diplomacy with Indonesia vis-à-vis China. This article argues the dynamics of Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, influenced by two factors: (1) the state dilemma and (2) people’s realities, affecting the international relations between Indonesia and Taiwan. Therefore, this paper aims to explore possible answers by discussing the state dilemma and peoples’ realities from the perspective of Indonesian workers in Taiwan. This study represents qualitative research supplemented by data obtained from interviews with Indonesian workers in Taiwan. The authors are also intensively contacted and involved through activities with Indonesian workers and communities
Indonesian Government’s COVID-19 Measures, January–May 2020: Late Response and Public Health Securitization
Full text linkThe Indonesian government’s measures to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can be characterized by late response due to initial de-securitization of the issue, and later securitization that limits its very efficacy in restricting the spread of the pandemic. This article uses securitization theory to analyze the government’s measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses how the government’s increasing reliance on military figures and national security agencies influences the measures used to control the COVID-19 pandemic. This study finds that initially, the government seemed to be trying to de-securitize the issue, denying warnings that the virus might have existed undetected in Indonesia. Then, after the first cases were confirmed in March 2020, the government responded by securitizing the issue. The delay in the government’s response to COVID-19 caused the audience to not fully accept the government’s securitization efforts because public trust in the government’s measures was already low, while the means of emergency action taken by the government against the threat of COVID-19 are also limited. The government has also been overly reliant on influential military figures and national security agencies. The government also tended to downgrade the threats, lack transparency, and even use the pandemic to crack down on anti-government smears. This article concludes that the government needs to change their approach to COVID-19 measures and prioritize the human security dimension by not downgrading the threats and upholding transparency
Gender-Equality Concerns and Political Attitudes toward Women in the 2019 Legislative Election: Evidence from Pelalawan
Full text linkThe presence of women in Indonesian politics remains underrepresented whereas cultural and societal aspects pose critical influence in determining voter behavior toward female candidates. The aim of this article is to examine voter behavior regarding female candidates and the probability for them to be elected as members of parliament. We apply quantitative method by developing three models representing three combinations of predictor variables, (i) socio-demography, (ii) gender- equality concern, and (iii) political attitude towards female candidates as determinants towards female candidate electability. The study took place in Pelalawan Regency in Riau Province, by analyzing 400 respondents with equal numbers of men and women from various socio-economic backgrounds through clustered random sampling method. We tested these hypotheses and our three models by utilizing logistic regression analysis. The result shows that political attitude toward female candidates (Model 3) are the strongest coefficient and most significant determinant for female candidate electability. The study also revealed that female candidate’s electability in Pelalawan Regency is lower than male candidate’s electability among male respondents. On the other hand, female candidate’s electability is higher than male candidate’s electability among female respondents. Moreover, we also found that education determines female candidate’s electability where the more educated an individual is, the more he/she tends to vote for female candidates
Partisanship in Crisis: Public Response to Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia
Full text linkGiven the fact that in a context of crises, people are concerned with their safety, among other things, partisan response toward policies and public leaders is an intriguing topic. This article examines the extent to which partisanship pertains to the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. We employ natural language processing (NLP) and social network analysis (SNA) on Twitter data to analyse public responses toward prominent political leaders, namely, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (Anies), in handling the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. We then put the social media analysis in a framework of political partisanship. Our sentiment analysis through NLP across time and categories found that supports and demands towards the two public figures indicate positive and negative partisanship that replicates previous electoral supports. Similarly, our SNA indicates a high polarization rate among the accounts connected with the two leaders in response to the crisis. Extended analysis of the accounts who are at the epicentres of the sentiment conversations, either positive or negative about Jokowi and Anies, reveals that there are connections with their past political support. Though we find negative partisan responses for both leaders, a type of hard-core partisanship has been leveraged for Jokowi but not for Anies. We conclude that electoral polarization contributes to the extent to which partisanship responses circulate in a context of crisis
Quasi-Alliance at Play: The Curious Case of South Korea’s Aborted Withdrawal from GSOMIA in 2019
Full text linkThis study aims to explain why countries maintain security cooperation with a partner even though they are in the middle of severe tensions. This is experienced by the Republic of Korea (ROK), which preferred to maintain its security cooperation with Japan under the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). This research utilizes the concept of abandonment fears to explain South Korea's behavior in reversing its self-declared withdrawal from GSOMIA in 2019. By conducting a deductive-qualitative research approach, this research shows that South Korea was in a position of abandonment fears—fears of being ignored by Japan—magnified by the uncertainty of US commitment. For now, South Korea considers Japan as the most likely partner choice in the region. Thus, Seoul decided to maintain the partnership with Japan within the GSOMIA framework and compromise its grievances with the latter
Silent Political Apathy in Urban Society: The Case of Medan 2018 Election
Full text linkStudies on non-voting behavior and which depart from social perspectives have long been stagnated due to the dominance of analysis that puts systems, institutionalization, political mechanisms and participation as the main viewpoints of the studies. This study using social perspectives is useful to explain why voters were not present at polling stations during the Medan 2018 Election. It elaborates the social aspects that influenced non-voting behavior in the urban area of Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia during the 2018 gubernatorial election. Utilizing mix- method strategies, instead of citing social aspects as a mere research context, this article argues that social aspects in the form of social cleavages worked behind the silent apathy, namely apathy that was implicitly indicated by voters who were not present at polling stations. Social cleavages including ethnicity, religion and gender indicated a paradox since they—with the exception of gender—were used by candidates as the main campaign substance. On the other hand, large numbers of people showed disinterest in these social cleavages during the election. This article explains why abstained voters hid their disinterest behind their excuses for not being present at the polling stations for economic (working activities) and other reasons
