On the brink of post-democracy: Indonesia's identity politics in the post-truth era

Abstract

As a country with a diversity of languages, religions, ethnicities and cultures, Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to the hostile play of identity politics. Lies produced during the Post-Truth period exploit many emotional sentiments and provoke interest groups to act based on primordial impulses that support certain political interests. The negative turbulence related to identity politics due to the chaotic circulation of hoaxes and misinformation is feared to lead to a Post-Democratic situation. Taking the case study of the two most influential elections in Indonesia: the 2017 Jakarta provincial election and the 2019 presidential election, this paper will explore how the Post-Truth phenomenon incorporates the issue of identity politics to generate a Post-Democratic situation in Indonesia. Secondary data analysis from the news and social media will be employed to further explain how identity politics is distorted in the media, and how it can generate social and political turbulence.