<![CDATA[This article examines alleged nepotism in the effort to secure Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s vice-presidential candidacy in Indonesia’s 2024 election through the lens of Javanese ethics of power. It aims to analyze the political maneuvers of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his associates and identify their underlying motives. The analysis draws on three theoretical frameworks: power resource theory, collective behavior theory, and power instinct theory. The findings suggest that Jokowi’s exercise of power reflects Javanese conceptions of authority, reinforced by oligarchic support, customary legitimacy, charisma, and popularity. His political maneuvers are characterized by spontaneity, emotional tensions, and contradictory circumstances, particularly in efforts to amend the Constitutional Court Law. These actions are interpreted as responses to anxiety over the loss of power, attempts to pressure political opponents, resentment toward the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Megawati Soekarnoputri, and efforts to reshape legal arrangements. Psychologically, these maneuvers may reflect projection, reaction formation, and defensive mechanisms, revealing how political insecurity and personal grievances can encourage impulsive actions that challenge institutional and legal boundaries.]]>
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