THE REPRESENTATIONS OF INDONESIANNESSIN POST-NEW ORDER INDONESIA (1998-2016)

[摘要] This study’s central question is how is nationalism defined and reproduced after the collapse of Suharto’s New Order in 1998?This study focuses specifically on the contested official narratives in post-Suharto Indonesia during its transition and consolidation to democracy.I argue that there are more than one narrative of the nation emerging in the post-New Order official narratives. Using narrative analysis in selected citizenship education textbooks published between 1998 and 2016 in Indonesian higher education, I found three narratives of the nation: 1. state-centered, 2. citizens-centered, and 3. ummah-centered narratives. The three narratives revise, counter, and offer a different insight from that of the New Order militaristic narrative. The three narratives, outlined above, redefine the meaning of the first principle of Pancasila to emphasize the piousness of the nation and Pancasila’s fourth principle to underline Indonesian new democracy.Whereas the state-centered narrative calls for the implementation of Pancasila democracy, the citizens-centered narrative emphasizes the building of democracy.In addition, the ummah-centered narrative underscores a truly Muslim society. I also argue that the process of reproducing nationalism in post Suharto Indonesia needs to take account of its transition from authoritarian to more democratic context. Using thematic narrative analysis, I generated information from in-depth interviews with publishers, authors, educators, and students to highlight textbook reproduction and usage. My study further shows that the three narratives are shaped within the intertwining dualism of national education, a complex process, in which actors collaborate and compete; existing ideas are rejected as well as adapted; textbooks’ writing and publication follow market demand while at the same time pay attention to government regulation; and students’ stories are fluidly shaped not only by their reference to textbooks in educational setting, but also to diverse sources of information in their everyday interactions. In a broader sociological discussion, the three contesting official narratives reveal not only tensions in citizenship education, but also mark the emergence of a new nationalism in post New Order Indonesia.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh