Narrow Nationalism Not the Solution
Narrow nationalism is not the right solution to cope with the pressures of neoliberal globalization.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Narrow nationalism is not the right solution to cope with the pressures of neoliberal globalization, because it excludes the minority and tends to neglect human rights protection, and will make democracy stagnant.
The solution for coping with the pressures of neoliberal globalization relies on the ability to overcome socioeconomic injustice, which has resulted in a gap between the real and imagined ideal of an equal nation.
The phenomenon of narrow nationalism is occurring not only in Indonesia; nationalist movements are occurring in a number of countries.
In the United States, President Donald Trump created the slogan, "Make America Great Again". In Britain, a similar nationalist sentiment also emerged in a referendum that led to Britain withdrawing from the EU, or Brexit. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin is using a cultural symbol of the tsarist era (monarchy) to maintain political hegemony in his country.
The increasingly nationalist sentiment, according to Asian Studies professor Vedi R Hadiz of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, Australia, is inseparable from the contradiction arising from globalization.
On the one hand, globalization is producing more widespread wealth than in the past. However, social gaps in the world have also widened. The number of people who feel that they have been left behind is larger than the elite, who controls both wealth and resources. The same thing has happened in Indonesia.
"Nationalism cultivates a sense of solidarity. How can we maintain a sense of solidarity if the people’s life experiences as part of the nation-state are different? The gap creates tensions within the nation-state," Hadiz said Wednesday in Jakarta at a panel discussion on “Nationalism in Indonesia Today”, organized by Kompas and the Asia Institute.
The discussion also featured other speakers from the Asia Institute – Andrew Rosser, Dave McRae and Hani Yulindrasari – as well as Communications lecturer Inaya Rakhmani of the University of Indonesia and sociologist Robertus Robet of the State University of Jakarta.
Inequality
According to Hadiz, the emergence of narrow nationalism is a symptom of the nation-state crisis that is partly caused by social and economic inequalities. Nationalism is a great cultural resource.
The elite who can access cultural resources then interpret and "mold" nationalism to their own interests. The elite can move from one “symbol” to another, such as national or religious symbols, depending on which symbol best suits their interests.
The elite use nationalism, which should be open and accommodative of social diversity, to obscure social class, and the exploitation and marginalization of certain social classes.
"Everyone has equal representation in the legislature, but they don’t have equal socioeconomic positions. A dysfunctioning liberal democracy leads to the emergence of right-wing populism,” he said.
Inaya said that the middle and lower-middle classes in Indonesia, whose aspirations and dreams of their future were not being fulfilled, feel insecure and uncertain about their future. This condition is vulnerable to being exploited by the oligarchic elite amid political contests.
According to Robertus, two communitarian values are currently competing in Indonesian society, that of religious nationalism and nationalist nationalism.
In an election, the victims are always the poor and the protection of individual rights, including minorities and women. This condition will continue through the 2019 elections, because there will be political contestations that may cause divisions in society.
"The future of human rights and the democratic politics of Indonesia will stall, because Indonesian politics in the near future will be colored by contestations of nationalist nationalism and religious nationalism," Robertus said.
Moderating nationalism
According to Dave McRae, President Joko Widodo\'s administration has gradually begun to moderate the nationalistic policies that caused early friction among Indonesia’s partners in the international sphere. He pointed to the sinking of illegal fishing boats and the executions of drug convicts.
McRae said that the moderation of nationalist policy is due to the government\'s desire to meet the targets of its economic agenda. According to him, the public will not vote for Joko Widodo for a second term based only on strict policies against other countries, but on whether the government cannot improve their quality of life.
Nevertheless, he also said that during the political year ahead of the 2019 elections, challenges will grow against the moderation of nationalistic foreign policy.
"If, during the political year and during the campaign, the theme [foreign threats] receives broad response from the public, it could encourage Joko Widodo to return to a policy colored by nationalism," McRae said.
(GAL/DAY/BEN)