TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Quo vadis, Indonesian nationalism?
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A street vendor waits for customers, ahead of the country’s 77th Independence Day in Jakarta on Aug. 16, 2022. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
I
ndonesia’s sense of nationalism, despite having managed to keep a diverse range of peoples, cultures and beliefs together in a singular ark for nearly 80 years, remains largely superficial and full of paradoxes, according to analysts drawn from academia, civil society and the private sector.
As Indonesia prepares for its 77th Independence Day anniversary on Aug. 17, The Jakarta Post held a focus group discussion among Indonesians from different professional backgrounds to ponder where nationalism is headed amid the country’s growing problem of intolerance.
From the outset of the discussion, the speakers were acutely aware that the youth of today lead lives that are largely different from their own experiences, going beyond the notion that national boundaries dictate their civic duties and allegiances to the imagined community of Indonesia.
Most of the speakers were of the opinion that the reigning paradoxes of nationalism in the country have made it toxic and harmful for human rights to flourish – thus making it harder to be accepted in the “wokeness” of contemporary society. The speakers said more work needed to be done to deconstruct and redefine nationalism for the next generation of Indonesians who will inherit the keys to the next 77 years of nation-building.
The following are excerpts from the discourse:
Question: How would you define nationalism?
