Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia

In 1998, after the fall of the New Order regime, Indonesia passed through a social, political and economic transition, including a change of power. The first power transition happened in 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the President of Indonesia through the Parliament. The election of Abdurrahma...

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Main Author: Kh. Rosyadi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2020-12-01
Series:RUDN journal of Sociology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.rudn.ru/sociology/article/viewFile/24532/18560
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author Kh. Rosyadi
author_facet Kh. Rosyadi
author_sort Kh. Rosyadi
collection DOAJ
description In 1998, after the fall of the New Order regime, Indonesia passed through a social, political and economic transition, including a change of power. The first power transition happened in 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the President of Indonesia through the Parliament. The election of Abdurrahman Wahid as the President of Indonesia is inseparable from mystification of power (politics) which he started. The article aims at understanding why Abdurrahman Wahid as the President of Indonesia chose the strategy of power mystification. The study is based on the case study approach. The results of the study show that the strategy of mystification of power was chosen by Abdurrahman Wahid for he could use his social status as the grandson of the founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) - the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, which was determined by the NU tradition that children or grandchildren of the kiai had privileges. The Javanese understanding of power is different from the European discourse of power due to the fact that the Javanese explanation of power or leadership cannot be separated from social, political and cultural factors of society or community. Different types of leadership and power are results of differences in social and cultural factors and organization of societies. For the Javanese, power is homogeneous by nature and has the same features wherever it appears. The forms of power are expressions of the same reality, derive from the same source and have the same quality: all forms of power are based on the participation in one force pervading the entire universe. Thus, the Javanese considers individuals and groups that gain power as containers that contain a portion of these cosmic forces.
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spelling doaj.art-87f3bd15354d4dce909f689153d186e72022-12-21T23:35:44ZengPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN journal of Sociology2313-22722408-88972020-12-0120349850810.22363/2313-2272-2020-20-3-498-50819238Mystification of the highest power: A case of IndonesiaKh. Rosyadi0Trunojoyo University MaduraIn 1998, after the fall of the New Order regime, Indonesia passed through a social, political and economic transition, including a change of power. The first power transition happened in 1999, when Abdurrahman Wahid became the President of Indonesia through the Parliament. The election of Abdurrahman Wahid as the President of Indonesia is inseparable from mystification of power (politics) which he started. The article aims at understanding why Abdurrahman Wahid as the President of Indonesia chose the strategy of power mystification. The study is based on the case study approach. The results of the study show that the strategy of mystification of power was chosen by Abdurrahman Wahid for he could use his social status as the grandson of the founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) - the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, which was determined by the NU tradition that children or grandchildren of the kiai had privileges. The Javanese understanding of power is different from the European discourse of power due to the fact that the Javanese explanation of power or leadership cannot be separated from social, political and cultural factors of society or community. Different types of leadership and power are results of differences in social and cultural factors and organization of societies. For the Javanese, power is homogeneous by nature and has the same features wherever it appears. The forms of power are expressions of the same reality, derive from the same source and have the same quality: all forms of power are based on the participation in one force pervading the entire universe. Thus, the Javanese considers individuals and groups that gain power as containers that contain a portion of these cosmic forces.http://journals.rudn.ru/sociology/article/viewFile/24532/18560powermystification of powerindonesiainterpretations of powertraditional leadercharismatic leaderreligious foundations of power
spellingShingle Kh. Rosyadi
Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
RUDN journal of Sociology
power
mystification of power
indonesia
interpretations of power
traditional leader
charismatic leader
religious foundations of power
title Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
title_full Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
title_fullStr Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
title_full_unstemmed Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
title_short Mystification of the highest power: A case of Indonesia
title_sort mystification of the highest power a case of indonesia
topic power
mystification of power
indonesia
interpretations of power
traditional leader
charismatic leader
religious foundations of power
url http://journals.rudn.ru/sociology/article/viewFile/24532/18560
work_keys_str_mv AT khrosyadi mystificationofthehighestpoweracaseofindonesia