Yogyakarta, May 11th 2023─Approaching the political events in the upcoming 2024 election, identity politics is still a worrying issue. This is because identity politics in the midst of the diversity of Indonesian society has great potential to break up its unity. Especially now that politics has penetrated digital activities which are prone to causing misinformation to corner certain groups. In this regard, The Conversation is holding a Public Discussion with the theme “Is identity politics still relevant in the 2024 election campaign on social media?” at the Islamic University of Indonesia on Thursday (11/5).
In the discussion, Dr. Wawan Mas’udi as the Dean of Fisipol UGM also participated as a speaker. “The use of identity as part of politics or actually something that has been going on for a very long time is even related to the establishment of a modern state. In the context of electoral politics which heavily uses a single majoritarian pattern, it seems that identity politics will still be used as a scenario or strategy,” said Dr. Wawan Mas’udi.
Based on research which was conducted at the regional elections in Yogyakarta in 2017, Dr. Wawan Mas’udi explained that there were 3 types of political strategies prepared, namely program politics strategy, money politics strategy, and identity politics strategy. He argued, “In the 2024 elections, I’m sure all candidates will prepare these strategies. First, a program strategy will definitely be prepared, but if the strategy cannot provide political confidence, then certain groups will use this identity politics strategy to function.”
Even so, there is no specific regulation dealing with the potential dangers of identity politics in elections. Therefore, public literacy in the digital world is a crucial tool for increasing community agency.