Priviet Social Sciences Journal
Vol. 6 No. 6 (2026): June 2026

Political communication in restoring public trust: A case study of President Prabowo’s response to the attack on TNI-UNIFIL peacekeepers by Israel

Achmad Kadafi (Universitas Paramadina)
Irva Wike Aprisa (Universitas Paramadina)
Edison Bonartua Hutapea (Universitas Paramadina)



Article Info

Publish Date
10 Jun 2026

Abstract

The attack on TNI-UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeeping observation posts by the Israeli military in October 2024 presented a significant diplomatic and political challenge for the newly inaugurated administration of President Prabowo Subianto. This study analyses the political communication strategies employed by President Prabowo in responding to the incident and their impact on restoring both domestic and international public trust. Employing a qualitative approach through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and frameworks of Agenda Setting, Framing Theory, and Political Communication Theory, this research examines official statements, press conferences, state speeches, and diplomatic communications conducted by the Indonesian government. Findings indicate that President Prabowo utilized a four-layered communication strategy: (1) nationalism and state sovereignty framing; (2) mobilization of international solidarity through multilateral diplomatic channels; (3) coordinated media narrative management; and (4) construction of assertiveness-based leadership identity. This strategy effectively increased domestic public trust by 12.3% based on post-incident surveys, while simultaneously strengthening Indonesia's position in international forums. This study contributes to the development of political communication theory in the context of diplomatic crises in emerging democratic nations. Keywords: Diplomatic Crisis, Media Framing, Political Communication, Public Trust, TNI-UNIFIL.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

PSSJ

Publisher

Subject

Economics, Econometrics & Finance Education Environmental Science Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

PSSJ: Priviet Social Sciences Journal is an open access, monthly peer-reviewed international journal published by PRIVIETLAB. It provides an avenue to academicians, researchers, managers and others to publish their research work that contributes to the knowledge and theory of Social Sciences. PSSJ ...