How the Internet influenced Indonesian politics

13 September 2005

Merlyna Lim investigated the relationship between the Internet and political activism based on two case studies from Indonesia. From these two examples she drew general conclusions about the role of the Internet in the formation of collective actions and the consequences of this for political relations.

The Internet facilitates creative interaction between people and between people and their environment. Due to its conviviality, this technology is endowed with certain characteristics that make it less amenable to domination by a small number of elite groups. Although the Internet has the potential to generate and support collective actions, Lim believes that the Internet will never replace the importance of cultural and interpersonal linkages in collective actions.

The researcher based her findings on two historical situations. The first was the use of the Internet during the 'reformasi' of May 1998. The 'reformasi' is the political reform movement which forced former president Soeharto out of power in 1998. Lin discovered that in this period, the Internet made a unique contribution to the political activism which led to the fall of Soeharto. There was a flurry of messages between the Internet and the more 'traditional' media, and with student activists, taxi chauffeurs and ordinary citizens in the so-called warung - kerbside food stalls.

Moluccan conflict

The second example was the use of the Internet by the Jihad Troopers, a radical militant group involved in the Moluccan conflict. This example illustrates how the Internet became the site for reviving of primordial, ethno-religious, and communal identities that then supported the collective act of violence. This local movement could be scaled up and radicalised as it linked to similar movements elsewhere in the world. This resulted in the amplification and prolongation of conflict.

Although the researcher has drawn general conclusions, the Indonesian situation analysed in the dissertation is not presented as universal. To gain a rich understanding of the complex dynamics of relationships between the Internet and politics, much more comparative research in other settings is needed. More research, especially in non-Western countries, is needed to gain a more holistic picture of how the Internet unfolds under various social, historical, political and cultural dimensions. Lim's research results can already be used to inform public organisations in developing countries about the relative importance of the Internet for the process of democratisation.

Merlyna Lim's research was funded by NWO-WOTRO.

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For further information please contact:

• Dr Merlyna Lim (Technology and Sustainable Development Group, University of Twente)
• t: +31 (0)53 489 3533 (University of Twente), +62 22 520 5109 (Indonesia), merlyn@bdg.centrin.net.id 
• The doctoral thesis was defended on 1 September 2005
• Supervisor Prof. N.G. Schulte Nordholt, n.g.schultenordholt@tdg.utwente .nl