Politics of dignity

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO (KUM)

Azyurmardi Azra

Nearly two decades have passed after Indonesia held the 1999 general election during the reform period, which was recognized by many circles as the most democratic after the first general election in 1955. In 2019, Indonesia will carry out the fifth general election (simultaneous legislative and presidential elections) after the wave of democracy that hit Indonesia in the 1998-1999 period.

Since the 1999 general election and following general elections (2004, 2009, 2014) were peaceful, Indonesia gains international recognition as the third largest democracy after India and the United States. As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia has also become a showcase of the best experiences of Islam and democracy.

For two decades, Indonesian democracy is far from perfect. Many weaknesses make Indonesia have flaw democracy. However, it is also clear that democracy can no longer be reversed.

Apparently it is difficult to find a country on earth with flawless democracy. A country like the US, which is often seen as a "champion of democracy", has now become one of the main precedents of flaw democracy, especially since Donald Trump was elected as president in 2016.

The growth of populist nationalism through manipulation of identity politics has become one of the main features of democracy, especially in Europe and the US. In an increasingly multicultural nation-state society, populist nationalists have not only brought Trump to the highest peak of power in the United States, but also produced Brexit in Britain.

The phenomenon of the rise of populist nationalism with identity politics needs to be examined and watched out for if democracy can continue to survive. Because, if this phenomenon continues to increase, democracy which is a system of politics of dignity, politics of dignity, can lose its élan and raison d’etre.

Democracy is a political system that can glorify human dignity. With democracy, citizens who have different backgrounds and identities related to ethnicity, religion, race and intergroup (in Indonesia it is popularly called SARA) are placed in an equal position. Equality is one of the important aspects of politics of dignity.

Conversely, politics that does not glorify human dignity is politics of indignity. In this politics, groups of people of different races, ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds are placed and treated unequally and discriminatorily.

Such politics encourages the creation of narratives about economic resentment that blends with socio-cultural and religious factors. At this stage there is narrative contestation – frequently not based on valid facts and data -- in contrast and conflicts with each other, which ultimately damage the glory of the politics of dignity.

Basically the politics of dignity which is noble, besides being damaged by the narrative contestation, also by political policies and acts like corruption, collusion and nepotism. Taking into consideration the negative impact of the phenomenon of democracy with populist nationalism which blends with identity politics that undermines the glory of politics, discourses among experts about politics of dignity and politics of indignity has increase significantly. One of them is Francis Fukuyama with the work Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Recognition (2018).

Mentioning Indonesia only in two places, Fukuyama noted the rise of religion as a political phenomenon in a number of countries. According to Fukuyama, in Indonesia the phenomenon was seen in the case of the Jakarta regional election, where Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), a double minority who was a candidate for governor, got a challenge from identity politics on the basis of accusations of blasphemy.

If identity politics (Islam) is behind the opposition against Ahok, how much does it have the potential to become a big wave of populist nationalism, especially in the 2019 presidential election? Observing the statements by certain politicians as well as the materials circulating in many social media, it is clear that there is a movement to promote the identity politics.

In the Indonesian context, it is difficult to link the populist nationalism closely with religion as in the US. Populist nationalism in the country was first related to the economic difficulties faced by the WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant). This economic dissatisfaction blends with socio-economic and political-religious resentments when pumped with the spirit of religion.

Comparatively, the number of poor people in Indonesia is also still large (around 26 million people or 9.8 percent of the population), but economic dissatisfaction is not as severe as in the US. Poverty does not become social-religious and political dissatisfaction thanks to stronger social cohesion.

Borrowing Fukuyama\'s framework, social, cultural, religious, and political dissatisfaction that increases populist nationalism and identity politics can be overcome by developing politics of recognition. With the politics of recognition, the dignity of each and all citizens is honored, both personally and in groups.

Indonesia is fortunate because the founders of this republic had adopted the politics of recognition, when they proclaimed independence. The existence of the politics of recognition can be seen in the Pancasila as the basis of the state. With Pancasila as the foundation of the State -- not a particular religion -- especially through the principle of Belief in God, Indonesia applies the politics of recognition to religious pluralism.

The state’s politics of recognition also exists in the principle of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). The state recognizes each and all tribes with different customs and traditions that form the nation-state of Indonesia.

However, the two principles of the state’s politics of recognition are experiencing challenges. Quite a large number of people no longer understand and practice Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Therefore, it is an urgent task for ministries, institutions and civil society to strengthen again the principles and sources of the politics of recognition. (AZYUMARDI AZRA, Culture and Humanities professor, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University)