Social Change in Indonesian Society: The Role of Communication and Public Administration from Colonialism to Globalization

Cut Nurul Khiyarah (Universitas Syiah Kuala)
Mursyidatul Khairah Subja (Universitas Syiah Kuala)
Alyuna Alyuna (Universitas Syiah Kuala)

Journal of Communication Science and Public Administration
Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): January, Social Media, Public Engagement and Citizen Participation

This article is a literature review that aims to analyze and synthesize social change in Indonesian society during the transition period, from the colonial era to post-independence and globalization. This study utilizes five primary sources: Wertheim (1999) on nationalism and globalization, Musliati et al. (2023) on social development during the colonial period, the Journal of Social Studies Education on Ethical Politics and nationalism, and the Journal of Social Sciences on Indonesian postcolonialism. The results of this study indicate that social change in Indonesia is multidimensional and cannot be understood from a single perspective. Colonialism inherited a hierarchical social structure that continues to reproduce inequality, while the Ethical Policy paradoxically gave rise to an educated class that became the driving force of nationalism. Post-independence, nationalism suffered degradation due to ethnic and religious conflicts and multidimensional crises, while postcolonialism emerged in new, more subtle forms that still hampered popular emancipation.