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‘Toxic’ nationalism under scrutiny
Indonesia has come a long way from being an “imagined political community”, as per the famous Benedict Anderson edict, but local professionals and researchers alike are growing increasingly worried that nationalism has turned toxic.
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The Indonesian national flag flies high in this file photo taken at Fatahillah Museum in Central Jakarta. (Shutterstock.com/Kadek Bonit Permadi)
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s Indonesia gears up for its celebration of 77 years of independence on Wednesday, the air has become thick with patriotism, and there is a seemingly unending display of red-and-white flags adorning every nook and cranny, accompanied by the chorusing of national songs in public spaces.
The uniform fanfare, as it were, stands almost in stark contrast to this diverse nation that is home to more than 800 different languages, 300 ethnicities and six recognized faiths.
The jubilee is all but unexpected. After all, Indonesia is the eighth most patriotic nation in the world, according to a 2022 poll from global survey company YouGov, with 14 percent of respondents answering positively to the statement that Indonesia was “the best country in the world”.
Indonesia has come a long way from being an “imagined political community”, as per the famous 1983 edict from historian Benedict Anderson, which painted the concept of nationalism in a largely positive light.
However, local professionals and researchers alike are growing increasingly worried that Indonesia’s nationalism has turned toxic, citing glaring instances of growing intolerance at a recent focused group discussion The Jakarta Post hosted in Central Jakarta. The work of defining a national identity and the boundaries of loving one’s country is thus unfinished, the panel said.
Read also: Semangat ‘45: Nation upbeat ahead of Independence Day festivities
Melbourne University history PhD candidate Ravando Lie, the only panelist to tune in virtually to the discussion, defined toxic nationalism as a sentiment that, rather than uniting, divided people into categories. While the manifestation of this toxicity has been seen time and time again in the numerous tragedies that have befallen the country’s minority groups, the “destructive” sentiment has also more recently bled into Indonesia’s vast online spaces.
