Testing Islam's Political Advantage: Evidence from Indonesia (original) (raw)
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Islamic Political Parties and Election Campaigns in Indonesia
Party Politics, 2022
Islamist political parties are a structural feature of politics across the Muslim world, raising persisting questions for scholars of democracy. Under what conditions will Islamists moderate to support democracy and pluralism? Under what conditions will they adopt more exclusive behavior? Taking a fresh approach, we focus on electoral competition and the conditions under which Islamic party candidates campaign using either inclusive nationalist appeals or exclusively Islamic appeals. Using a unique data source, we coded the appeals contained on the campaign posters of 572 Islamic party candidates in Indonesia. We found that demographics, urban-rural differences, and the level of government office (i.e., national or regional) affected the inclusive or exclusive nature of campaigns. We also highlight differences in appeals made by candidates from Muslim democratic and Islamist parties. The study illustrates the effectiveness of posters as a data source and presents a new approach to understanding the behavior of Islamic parties.
Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies , 2022
Although most Indonesia's population is Muslim, the Islamic parties' votes do not show a significant general election. This tendency encourages Islamic parties to develop post-Islamism to win the sympathy of majority Muslim voters in Indonesia. Ahead of the 2019 election, identity politics or sectarian politics had strengthened in the 2017 DKI Jakarta Regional Head Election, and even identity politics had long ago emerged with the proliferation of Sharia regulations in several regions, as well as the issuance of the MUI Fatwa regarding the illegitimacy of secularism, liberalism, and pluralism. This study aims to see whether Islamic parties maintain Post Islamism in political programs in the 2019 election. The research uses a library research method by collecting data from books, journals, national print, and online media. The study results explain that Islamic parties remain consistent in using the Post Islamism approach in the 2019 election, even though their vote acquisition is stagnant as a middle board party.
Islamic Populism and Voting Trends in Indonesia
ISEAS Perspective, 2021
In recent years, the global populist surge driven by religio-political sentiments has taken root in various developing democracies exploiting pre-existing religio-political cleavages within society. India with its ruling Hindu-centric nationalist right-wing party BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey under the "new Islamic sultan" Recep Tayyip Erdogan are two of the most prominent examples of illiberal populist rulers employing religious rhetoric in rallying their supporters and in the process severely undermining the pluralist-secularist nature of the state. Indonesia is another such case. Although the "left-right" ideological spectrum is inadequate in deciphering the landscape of Indonesia's electoral system, a comparable "left-right" religio-political cleavage can nevertheless be identified within the "pluralist-Islamist" voting bloc spectrum found in this country. This paper uses quantitative survey analysis to empirically determine the percentage of Indonesian voters classified as Islamic populists. Pro-Islamic populists comprised 16.3%, while 33.9% identified with the anti-Islamic populists. A strong correlation is found between former presidential candidate and current Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto's supporters and their propensity for displaying a high level of pro-Islamic populist attitudes. Vice versa, President Jokowi's supporters display a consistent tendency of being anti-Islamic populists.
Declining support for Islamist Parties: Exploring the Indonesian Paradox
QUICK VOTE counts of the recent April 9 legislative elections in Indonesia have indicated that Muslim-based parties have managed to secure less than 24% of the total votes. The four Muslim-based parties, namely the Justice Prosperous Party (PKS), National Mandate Party (PAN), National Awakening Party (PKB) and the United Development Party (PPP) are expected to be represented in parliament, with each having secured between 5 to 8% of the total national votes. The total votes for PKS and PPP declined by approximately 2% compared to the previous election. Meanwhile, PAN and PKB, which have shed their Islamic image for a more secular one, suffered a total of 7% decline.
Conference paper (unpublished), 2016
In Indonesia, major Islamic organisations have issued a religious ruling (fatwa) that forbids vote buying. Borrowing from the Islamic proscription of bribery, this ruling represents the mainstream Islamic view that condemns “money politics”. In this research, I study Muslim candidates who ran in Indonesia’s 2014 legislative elections. I seek to test the notion that the more serious one is about religion and the more one is committed to it, the more a person will follow its prescriptions. Specifically, I look at the effect of religiosity on electoral behaviour, by analysing at how candidates with varying degrees of religiosity think about vote buying and behave in an election awash with money politics. I collected data from in-depth interviews with over five dozen candidates in 2014 and tested the findings further through a survey of 237 Muslim candidates in 2015. I measure religiosity using the Centrality of Religiosity Scale developed by Stefan Huber and Odilo Huber. I will show that the common expectation about the effects of religiosity is, for the most part, not supported by the data. Being more religious does not reduce the likelihood that a candidate will get involved in vote buying. However, I still found an expected association between religiosity and religious positions that the candidates took on vote buying. As this study is the first to focus on a possible association between religion and vote buying, it will contribute to both literatures on money politics and religion’s influence on electoral behaviour.
The Failure of Islamic Populism: The Case of Indonesia’s 2019 Election
Proceedings of the 1st Annual Internatioal Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities (AICOSH 2019), 2019
This paper attempts to discuss the failure of Islamic populism in Indonesia. In the 2019 general election, populist jargons departing from Islamic teachings was used in the campaign to win the election. Islamic populist jargons are generally interpreted as an effort to voice the pure voice of the people, called the ummah, to fight a tyrannical regime which is sometimes also considered secular, corrupt and anti-Islamic. These jargons are mainly used by supporters of the opposition candidate Prabowo Subianto to defeat the incumbent President Joko Widodo. From the results of the General Election, the influence of Islamic populism, however, is very limited. In this paper, we argue that the failure of Islamic populism is due to three things, first, the support for the democratic process is still quite strong. Secondly, Islamic populism used by the Prabowo group is not part of mainstream Islam in Indonesia. Thirdly, in a long historical context, Islamic populism is always contestable in Indonesian politics so that its influence in politics is always debatable. To discuss this issue, this paper traces various campaign themes of the two Presidential candidates in various media and uses of statistical data from a national survey institution.
The Missing Link: Explaining the Political Mobilisation of Islam in Indonesia
Why has an increase in personal piety among Indonesia's Muslims not translated into electoral gains for Islamic political parties? To help explain this conundrum, this article focuses on the role of Indonesia's mass Islamic social organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Using a political economy lens, it argues that control over state resources and the provision of social welfare facilities have helped political parties maintain power over the years and that NU and Muhammadiyah have at times played important mediating roles in this process. Extending this analysis into Indonesia's contemporary politics, it then proposes that since 2004 in particular, the health and education facilities provided by NU and Muhammadiyah are becoming less important to ordinary people in relation to the services provided by the state. It concludes that this trend has weakened the ability of these organisations to channel public support to political parties/candidates and is one reason why Islamic parties have not been able to capitalise on increased religiosity in the social sphere.
2011
Why do some religious parties survive after adopting a moderate ideological outlook while others do not? The rise and fall of religious parties since the onset of democratic transition in Indonesia has set off an intriguing debate over the role and future of political Islam in electoral politics. This article seeks to explain the diverging -and unexpected -trajectories of the two most prominent religious parties, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Justice Prosperous Party (PKS) through a close examination of the case of PKB. It emphasizes organizational qualities to advance two claims. First, the decline of the moderate PKB is the result of the permeation of personality-based clientelistic and ascriptive relations as well as lack of party institutionalization. Political survival of the puritanical Islamist PKS, on the other hand, is explained by organizational cohesion achieved through party institutionalization. Second, a disciplined party structure has allowed PKS elites to achieve controversial ideological adjustments. In short, a moderate centralist religious ideology or outlook alone is not sufficient to achieve political survival in the competitive environment of electoral and religious politics.
RELIGION AS A POLITICAL TOOL: Secular and Islamist Roles in Indonesian Elections
JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN ISLAM
This article analyses the use of religion in Indonesian elections. It fundamentally argues that religion has been utilized by both secular and religious politicians to boost their electoral gain. Focusing on national and local elections in the past five years of Indonesian politics, this study suggests that religion is a significant instrument in the electoral decision-making process, both from the perspective of voters and candidates. Much of the data in writing this article derive from my current research project funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education. Other data come from leading survey institutes, particularly Lembaga Survey Indonesia
Islam and Politics in Indonesia
This comprehensive analysis delves into the intricate relationship between Islam and politics in Indonesia. With a Muslim-majority population, the influence of Islam on Indonesia's social, political, and cultural dynamics is profound. The nation's diverse religious interpretations, political identities, and aspirations among its Muslim populace present a unique landscape for various social and political forces vying for their support. The study explores the evolution of Islamic parties in Indonesia, particularly after the reform era following Suharto's fall in 1998. The policies initiated by President Habibie to promote political liberalization triggered significant changes in Muslim political participation. Nevertheless, the electoral performance of Islamic parties has been marked by fluctuations and challenges, with only a few successfully crossing the parliamentary threshold in recent elections. The article examines the role of Islam in Indonesia's politics throughout its history, from the early days of Islamization in the archipelago to the contemporary political landscape. It underscores how the influence of Islam has continued to be substantial despite the absence of formal political representation. Furthermore, the study assesses the marketing strategies employed by Islamic political parties and their adaptability to evolving voter behavior and preferences. It emphasizes the need for these parties to focus on issues that resonate with the electorate and suggests that Islam can remain relevant as a political platform, provided that Islamic parties shift from product-oriented to market-oriented approaches. In conclusion, this analysis provides valuable insights into the complex interplay between Islam and politics in Indonesia, shedding light on the historical backdrop and contemporary challenges faced by Islamic parties in garnering voter support. It highlights the importance of adaptability and strategic focus to ensure the continued relevance of Islamic ideology in Indonesian politics.