Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities
The Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities (JISSH) is a peer-reviewed, biannual journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, interdisciplinary research on Indonesia’s social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions. Now operating under the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), JISSH serves as a platform for scholars, researchers, and practitioners to engage with critical issues both within Indonesia and in broader international contexts. The journal encourages innovative theoretical and empirical work that bridges academic disciplines and contributes to global scholarly conversations. JISSH invites submissions for its biannual issues, published in June and December. As a peer-reviewed journal, it fosters vibrant academic discourse among researchers, educators, graduate students, activists, professionals, and policymakers. We welcome original research articles, research notes, and reviews that explore a wide range of topics related to Indonesia’s society, culture, politics, and international studies. JISSH particularly seeks manuscripts with rigorous analysis—whether theoretical, methodological, or empirical—that contribute to cutting-edge discussions in the social sciences and humanities. Focus and Scope The Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities (JISSH) provides a peer-reviewed platform and an authoritative source of information for the exchange of ideas and research among scholars in the social sciences and humanities who are interested in Indonesian Studies and/or Global and Area Studies from a Global South perspective. JISSH seeks to publish high-quality research papers, review articles, and book reviews that contribute to knowledge through the application and development of theory, exploration of new data, and/or rigorous analysis of relevant policy issues. The scope of JISSH includes the following areas: Social Sciences: Anthropology, Asian Studies, Communication, Demography, Development Studies, Gender Studies, Government and Public Policy, Human Ecology, International Relations, Media Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Science, Technology and Society, Sociology. Humanities: Cultural Studies, Education, History, Human Geography, Linguistics, Philosophy, Religion.
Articles
136 Documents
<![CDATA[Identity Politics, Citizenship and the Soft State in Indonesia: an Essay ]]>
<![CDATA[Henk Schulte Nordholt]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
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<![CDATA[Since 1998, administrative decentralisation, regional autonomy and ethnic and religious conflicts in areas outside Java have put identity politics high on the political agenda in Indonesia. This paper examines various expressions of these new identity politics and how they are related to, and derived from, older colonial concepts and categories. Examples from Riau and Bali illustrate how ethnic and religious repertoires are used to express political ambitions and mobilise popular support. Since 1998 Indonesia also witnessed a successful transition to electoral democracy. Whether democracy will take root in a more substantial way depends on the extent to which a notion of citizenship can be reinforced. It is argued that this notion of citizenship can only be maintained through the strengthening of the rule of law. In this respect it is also important to focus on the uneasy relationship between electoral democracy and ethnic and religious sentiments that tend to give far more attention to exclusive group interests while excluding a shared sense of citizenship. The paper concludes that democracy and citizenship, which are based on the rule of law, can only be achieved by strengthening the administrative and law-enforcing capacity of the state.]]>
<![CDATA[Ten Years of Reforms: The Impacts of an Increase in the Price of Oil on Welfare ]]>
<![CDATA[Latif Adam]]>;
<![CDATA[Esta Lestari]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[RMPI-BRIN ]]>
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<![CDATA[The Asian economic crisis that erupted in Indonesia in mid-1997 has resulted in fundamental changes in the structure of the Indonesian economy. For instance, although it was a controversial decision, the fuel subsidy has been extensively reduced since 2000 because of government budget constraints. This paper examines the decision of the government to eliminate the fuel subsidy (and increase the price of fuel) from 2000. It also measures to what extent such a decision has affected the level of people’s welfare in 2005. Using regression analysis, the paper indicates that the decision of the government to increase the price of oil, together with several other variables, correlates negatively with the level of people’s welfare. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the government should be careful in responding to the current conditions in the oil market where the world oil price fluctuates and has increased sharply. Instead of increasing the domestic fuel price, there are several actions that the government can take to respond to the increasing world oil price. Among them are implementing a cross-subsidy policy to redistribute income from higher to lower income groups, making comprehensive plans to increase and achieve lifting oil target, and intensifying efforts to diversify sources of energy.]]>
<![CDATA[Treading the Path of the Shari’a: Indonesian Feminism at the Crossroads of Western Modernity and Islamism ]]>
<![CDATA[Manneke Budiman]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[RMPI-BRIN ]]>
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<![CDATA[The downfall of Suharto’s New Order in 1998 has opened up a new era of political freedom and participation for activists and for groups that try to promote emancipatory agendas as well as for political Islamists keen on introducing tougher conservative, religious measures to society. Women’s activism and participation in different sectors has flourished, and their voices have had much stronger echoes in the political dynamics of the country. However, the new era has also given rise to Islamic radicalism that is also hostile to feminist causes and perceives feminism as part of the Western hegemonic project. In such a slippery political terrain, women’s movements in Indonesia have to remake the image of feminism in Indonesian terms so that it cannot be dismissed as an ideology imported from the West and, simultaneously, they must develop a home-grown counter-discourse against the mainstream interpretation of sacred texts by using the same sources of knowledge that the Islamists employ. To what extent women activists have succeeded or failed in their struggles to free Indonesian Muslim women from the shackles of the male-dominated reading of Islamic dogma, and what the future trajectories of their struggles might be, are the primary concerns of this essay.]]>
<![CDATA[Reformasi, Religious Diversity, and Islamic Radicalism after Suharto ]]>
<![CDATA[Noorhaidi Hasan]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[RMPI-BRIN ]]>
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<![CDATA[This paper examines the rising tide of ethno-religious conflicts and Islamic radicalism in the political arena of post-Suharto Indonesia. In the climate of Reformasi that heralded freedom of expression, ethnic and religious violence flared up in various regions of Indonesia, threatening a society apparently imbued with a culture of tolerance based on harmonious inter-ethnic and inter-faith relations. In a flurry of conflicts, a number of militant Muslim groups arose and engulfed the political arena of post-Suharto Indonesia by calling for jihad and other violent actions. The rise of the groups gave a remarkable boost to the explosion of militant religious discourses and activism that threaten Indonesia’s reputation for practising a tolerant and inclusive form of Islam and threaten, too, the integrity of the Indonesian nation-state as well. Against the backdrop of the state–Islam relationship in the New Order, this paper looks at how this phenomenon is embedded in the state’s failure to manage properly religious diversity and civic pluralism. In the context of mounting competition among elites, religion has become tremendously politicised and has served more as a tactical tool used by political contenders in their own interests. Herein lies the importance of the proper management of religious diversity as a mechanism to guarantee individual freedoms and maintain the rights of religious minorities.]]>
<![CDATA[Indonesian Theatre Ten Years after Reformasi ]]>
<![CDATA[Barbara Hatley]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
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<![CDATA[Theatre contributed actively to the Reformasi movement of 1998 in Indonesia, as shows were staged that united students, NGO workers, artists and others in shared criticism of the Suharto regime and aspirations for change. Modern Indonesian-language theatre has a long history of political involvement. Developed among students in the Dutch colonial school system, its aim was helping create the Indonesian nation. This led to friction with other political groups and with state authorities. During the New Order regime, performances conveyed criticism that could not be expressed through other channels. In the post-Suharto era, however, when political criticism can be freely expressed and there is no united opposition movement to work with, theatre necessarily connects in a different way to its social context. In Central Java, where the writer’s research has been based, contemporary theatrical performances are characterised by a shared focus on local identity and community. ‘Local’ culture is sometimes interpreted as the indigenous cultural forms of an area, but more often as the mixed local-global culture that residents practise today. The term ‘community’ is used to refer to immediate neighbours and to people with shared interests and experiences, who both watch and actively perform in plays. Such developments in theatre are clearly shaped by the heightened awareness of local identity fostered by regional autonomy and by the ideology of participatory democracy. But how do theatrical activities connect to other social forces and with the structures of the regional autonomy system? Is there any sense of future direction in the current vibrant celebration of local identity? In what ways does theatre in other regions reflect local social conditions? These important questions remain to be explored.]]>
<![CDATA[Indonesia’s State Enterprises: from State Leadership to International Consensus ]]>
<![CDATA[Yasmin Sungkar]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1 (2008): 10 Years Reformasi ]]>
Publisher : <![CDATA[RMPI-BRIN ]]>
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<![CDATA[The survival of state-owned enterprises and continued investment by the state was assisted by high rates of economic growth in Indonesia throughout the 1980s. The currency crisis in the region, which began in mid-1997, destroyed the expectation that rapid growth would continue. In this climate, the loss-making state companies were a serious financial burden, and privatisation has been promoted as a quick solution. It appears that the crisis reintroduced momentum for reform in the huge state-enterprise sector. In response to IMF pressure and its own fiscal difficulties, the government took several measures to reform the state sector. The economic crisis provided a catalyst because it forced the government to assess more seriously the value of state companies. There was an urgent need to sell state-owned assets to relieve the state budget when economic recovery slowed. This paper examines the efforts to reform the state sector during ten years of Reformasi, including the debate over privatisation and the emergence of strong resistance to reform. It appears that the crisis has strengthened the hand of reformers seeking to privatise the state sector. However, despite the logic of government efforts to reform inefficient state companies, there has been a battle with each step towards privatisation.]]>
<![CDATA[Some Notes on the Ideals and Goals of Indonesia’s National Education System and the Inconsistency of its Implementation: A Comparative Analysis ]]>
<![CDATA[Soedijarto]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 2 (2009): Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities ]]>
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<![CDATA[The Republic of Indonesia’s State Constitution of 1945 adopted a basic policy that obliges the government to run one national education system. It would seem it was the belief of the Founding Fathers when they drafted the constitution that education would be the strategic vehicle for ensuring that the newly independent Indonesian nation would be modern, democratic, prosperous, and with a concept of social justice based on the state philosophy of Pancasila. In implementing the basic policy, a series of education laws (1950, 1954, 1989 and 2003) have been promulgated that were to produce an educated citizenry who would be ‘intelligent, healthy, moral, democratic, and responsible’. This policy, and the goals and principles of education formulated in the constitution and in subsequent education laws, is in line with a paradigm followed by many nations that have made education an effective means of supporting their growth and development. Education is seen by some economists and political scientists to have a strategic role in improving the quality of life for Indonesian citizens. However, there has been no serious political determination on the part of the elites who control government and parliament to support the implementation of an education system that accords with the hopes and ambition of the Founding Fathers. The funding necessary for education has not been set aside in national budgets despite the constitutional and legislative requirements and expectations that this be done. The funding for education in Indonesia, compared with other developing nations, is low. The goals and principals adopted in the constitution and education laws have not been seriously and consistently implemented.]]>
<![CDATA[The Making of Indonesian Education: An overview on Empowering Indonesian Teachers ]]>
<![CDATA[Teuku Zulfikar]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 2 (2009): Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities ]]>
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<![CDATA[Education is one of the fundamental priorities of nation building. For this reason, the Indonesian government continuously seeks to improve the quality of its education. Empowering education can be done using many strategies, such as reforming school curricula or school systems or both. This article approaches the improvement of Indonesian education from a different angle, by considering teachers and the teaching profession. Before proposing an agenda for improving teachers, the article considers two main problems of Indonesian teachers: the practice of teacher-centred classroom pedagogy; and the emphasis on rote learning in the classroom. In response to these phenomena, this article suggests two main factors responsible for the persistence of such teaching styles: institutional cultures and the nature of assessment systems in Indonesian schools. This article has three recommendations to help Indonesian teachers improve. However, the author is aware that the agendas for improvement are complex and institutional reforms are needed; for example, the reform of teacher recruitment; teacher evaluation and also the reform of assessment systems. This article includes a discussion of what makes for a good teacher, which will help Indonesian teachers to gain an insight to their profession, and a discussion of the changes that could be made to enable the quality of teaching to improve.]]>
<![CDATA[School-Based Management Policy and Its Practices at District Level in the Post New order Indonesia ]]>
<![CDATA[Bambang Sumintono]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 2 (2009): Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities ]]>
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<![CDATA[The debacle of the collapse of the New Order regime in 1998 brought significant change to Indonesia’s public sector. Primary and secondary education since 1 January 2001 has been based on the new law about regional autonomy, and administered at district level rather than in the previously centralised and bureaucratic manner. At the school level, ideas about school autonomy emerged and became popular. In particular, the term ‘School Based Management’ (SBM) was seen as a panacea, and as a result, the central government issued a regulation to implement the practice of SBM. This article analyses the dynamics of the SBM policy as it was interpreted and implemented. The study was approached in two ways: through document analysis of the Ministry of National Education decree 044/U/2002 that promulgated SBM; and by soliciting and interpreting the perspectives and practices of stakeholders at district level through interviews, site studies and document analyses. The study found that the SBM policy as stated in the decree lacked clarity. The decree had been hastily introduced and emphasised structural changes at district and school levels without clarifying its underlying rationale or implementation guidelines.]]>
<![CDATA[The Paradox of Education, Productivity and Career Development ]]>
<![CDATA[Endang S. Soesilowati]]>;
<![CDATA[Zamroni Salim]]>
<![CDATA[ Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 2 (2009): Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities ]]>
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<![CDATA[This study focuses on productivity and the career development of workers in Indonesia, especially those with tertiary education qualifications. Education, for some sets of workers, is a significant determinant in boosting productivity. Others confirm that their productivity is principally related to education, though less directly, because it is a signalling or screening device that is necessary to enable promotion or career development. The significance of education can be recognised by considering that workers’ ability to absorb new instructions or to understand advanced technology is determined by their education. The more advanced their education, the more responsive they will be. Individual ability to innovate and produce is much more possible for educated workers. For career development, the education level makes a significant contribution to promotion or career development for male and for female workers, but not to the same degree. In addition, the educational background controls to some extent the position and work levels of employees. However, based on some case studies in manufacturing industries, there is a scarcity of female employees holding higher-level positions, such as manager. Because of that, we cannot easily make valid comparisons or draw firm conclusions. In fact, although a woman might have an education to graduate level, she might not get a position equivalent to that of a male similarly educated. Female employees used to be a bit pessimistic about aspiring to develop their careers in terms of gaining higher job positions but, men in contrast, were more optimistic in their aspirations.]]>
