E ISSN
STUDENT ACTIVISM IN POST-AUTHORITARIAN INDONESIA: HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM, MOVEMENT DYNAMICS, AND SHIFTING POLITICAL NARRATIVES
Abstract
This study investigates student activism in post-authoritarian Indonesia, focusing on the interplay between higher education reform, movement dynamics, and evolving political narratives over the past decade. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we surveyed 497 undergraduates from social and political science faculties at 26 Indonesian universities and supplemented our analysis with a document review of student movements from 1999 to 2021. The study examines the transformation of Indonesia’s higher education system, the defining characteristics of contemporary student activism, and the predominant socio-political issues driving post-authoritarian student movements. Our findings show that student activism primarily occurs through various platforms, including social media, organizational participation, public discourse, and street demonstrations. Strategic alliances between campus-based groups and external civil society actors have become increasingly important in facilitating these movements. These movements have increasingly focused on issues such as justice, civil liberties, and welfare, while the rise of anti-oligarchy sentiments highlights ongoing dissatisfaction with the unfinished process of democratic consolidation. The analysis further uncovers a shift in political narratives, reflecting the changing priorities of the student movement in response to Indonesia’s political evolution. This study offers valuable insights into the role of student activism in shaping the state’s post-authoritarian trajectory, contributing to the broader understanding of the youth movement in contemporary Indonesia.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Akbar, I. (2016). Demokrasi dan Gerakan Sosial: Bagaimana Gerakan Mahasiswa Terhadap Dinamika Perubahan Sosial. Jurnal Wacana Politik, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v1i2.11052
Altbach P. G. (1963). Japanese students and Japanese politics. Comparative Education Review, 7(2), 1819. DOI: 10.1086/444987
Altbach P. G. (1968a). Student revolt in Europe. Journal of Economic and Political Weekly, 3(9), 7556.
Altbach P. G. (1968b). Turmoil and transition: higher education and student politics in India. New York: Basic Books.
Altbach P. G. (1970). Student movements in historical perspective: the Asian case. Journal of Southwest Asian Studies, 1(1), 7484. DOI: 10.1177/0044118X7000100305
Altbach, P. G. and Lipset, S. M. (1969). Students in Revolt. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Aminuddin, M. F. & Ramadlan, M. F. S. (2021). Aktivisme dan Partisipasi Mahasiswa Pasca Reformasi (Kajian Awal). Presentation. Diakses 1 Agustus 2023, dari: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356775084_Aktivisme_dan_Partisipasi_Mahasiswa_Pasca_Reformasi_Kajian_Awal
Aminuddin, M. F. & Ramadlan M. F. S. (2022). Aktivisme mahasiswa 10 tahun terakhir: banyak golput, menjaga jarak dari politik praktis, tapi peka isu demokrasi dan HAM. The Conversation. Diakses 13 Sepetember 2023, dari: https://theconversation.com/aktivisme-mahasiswa-10-tahun-terakhir-banyak-golput-menjaga-jarak-dari-politik-praktis-tapi-peka-isu-demokrasi-dan-ham-174409
Aspinall, E. (2012). Indonesia: moral force politics and the struggle against authoritarianism. In ML Weiss & E Aspinall (eds), Student activism in Asia: Between Protest and Powerlessness. Minneapolis & London: University of Minnesota Press.
Blackstone, T., Gales, K., Hadley, R., Lewis, W., (1970). Students in Conflict: LSE in 1967. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Budiman, A. (1978). The Student Movement in Indonesia: A Study of the Relationship between Culture and Structure. Asian Survey, 18(6), 609–625. DOI:10.2307/2643229
Braungart, R. G. (1971). Family Status, Socialization, and Student Politics: A Multivariate Analysis. American Journal of Sociology, 77, 108 - 130.
Bryan, P. D. (2019). Evolution of Student Movements in South Korea and their Impact on the Formation of Korean Democracy. Senior Theses. 26. https://fordham.bepress.com/international_senior/26
Byrne, V. L., Higginbotham, B. L., Donlan, A. E., & Stewart, T. J. (2021). An Online Occupation of the University Hashtag: Exploring How Student Activists Use Social Media to Engage in Protest. Journal of College and Character. 22(1), 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2020.1860775
Chen, W. (2020). Student Activism and Authoritarian Legality Transition in Taiwan. In W. Chen & H. Fu (Eds.), Authoritarian Legality in Asia: Formation, Development and Transition (pp. 303-334). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108634816.013
Cini, L., della Porta, D., Guzmán-Concha, C. (2021). Student Movements in Late Neoliberalism. Forms of Organization, Alliances, and Outcomes. In Cini, L., della Porta, D., Guzmán-Concha, C. (eds). Student Movements in Late Neoliberalism. Social Movements and Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75754-0_1
Cole, R. M., & Heinecke, W. F. (2020). Higher education after neoliberalism: Student activism as a guiding light. Policy Futures in Education, 18(1), 90-116. DOI: 10.1177/1478210318767459
Donoso, S. (2016). When Social Movements Become a Democratizing Force: The Political Impact of the Student Movement in Chile. Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 167–196. doi:10.1108/s0163-786x20160000039008
Fischer, J. & Sudarsono, J. (1971), Indonesian Student Activism. Pacific Affairs 44, no. 1 , 92–96. DOI: 10.2307/2755818.
Freedom House. (1998) Freedom in the World 1998 - Indonesia, Retrieved from: https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/freehou/1998/en/54041
Gazali, E. (2002). The Suharto Regime and Its Fall Through the Eyes of the Local Media. Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 64(2), 121 - 140. https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485020640020301
Guzman-Concha, C (ed.). 2017. Special Issue: Student Movements and Political Change in Contemporary Latin America. Bulletin of Latin American Research 36(2), 139-280. https://doi.org/10.1111/blar.12469
Gill, J. & DeFronzo, J. (2009). A Comparative Framework for the Analysis of International Student Movements. Social Movement Studies, 8(3), 203-224, DOI: 10.1080/14742830903024309
Heryanto, A.(1991, 4 Juni). Membicarakan Gerakan Mahasiswa. Bernas, p. 4, dari: https://arielheryanto.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/1991_06_04_bernas-membicarakan-gerakan-mahasiswa-c1.pdf
Heryanto, A. (1996). “The Student Movement.” Inside Indonesia 48: 10–12, dari: https://arielheryanto.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/1996_oct_dec_48_ii-the-student-movement-c.pdf.
Hall, G. (2019). Enabling young activists to be action competent about diverse issues. Social Educator; v.37 n.1 p.24-34; June 2019, 37(1), 24–34. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/aeipt.224107
Hill, D., Kumar, R. (2009). Global Neoliberalism and Education and its Consequences. New York: Routledge
Inglehart, R., (1977). The Silent Revolution. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Klemenčič, M. (2012). Student Representation in Western Europe: Introduction to the Special Issue. European Journal of Higher Education, 2(1), 2–19. DOI: 10.1080/21568235.2012.695058
Levy, D. C. (1991). The Decline of Latin American Student Activism. Higher Education, 22(2), 145–55. DOI: 10.1007/BF00137473
Lipset S. M. & Altbach P. G. (1966), Students and politics in western countries: student politics and higher education in the United States. Comparative Education Review, 10(2), 32049. DOI: 10.1086/445224
Lipset, S. M. (1968). Students and Politics in Comparative Perspective. Deadalus, 97(1), 1–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20023796
Lipset, S. M. & Wolin, S. S. (eds.). (1965). The Berkeley Student Revolt: Facts and Interpretations Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books.
Luescher, T., Loader, L., & Mugume, T. (2016). #FeesMustFall: An Internet-Age Student Movement in South Africa and the Case of the University of the Free State. Politikon, 44(2), 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1238644
Magenda, B. D. (1988). Gerakan Mahasiswa dan Hubungannya dengan Sistem Politik: Suatu Tinjauan. Dalam Farchan Bulkin (ed.). Analisa Kekuatan Politik Di Indonesia Pilihan Artikel Prisma, Jakarta: LP3ES.
Martin, D. G., Hanson, S., & Fontaine, D. (2007). What Counts as Activism?: The Role of Individuals in Creating Change. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 35(3/4), 78–94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27649696
Ministry of Education and Culture [MoEC]. (2015). Perkembangan pendidikan tinggi tahun 1999/2000—2013/2014. Jakarta: Center for Data and Statistics of Education and Culture of Republic of Indonesia.
Ministry of Education and Culture [MoEC]. (2020). Higher Education Statistical Yearbook 2020. Jakarta: Setditjen Dikti, Kemendikbud.
Muhalim, M. (2022). Neoliberal ideology, faith-based higher education institutions, and English in Indonesia: negotiating English teachers’ ideological formation. Globalisation, Societies and Education. 21(3), 353–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2022.2033614
Nurhayati-Wolff, H. (2021). Breakdown of social media users by age and gender in Indonesia. Statistika. Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/997297/indonesia-breakdown-social-media-users-age-gender/
Ortmann, S. (2015). The Umbrella Movement and Hong Kong›s Protracted Democratization Process, Asian Affairs, 46:1, 32-50, DOI: 10.1080/03068374.2014.994957
Ridha, M. (2020). What is new in the old pattern of Indonesia’s student movement? New Mandala. Diakses 13 Agustus 2013, dari: https://www.newmandala.org/what-is-new-in-the-old-pattern-of-indonesias-student-movement/
Roberts, K. (2015). Youth Movements. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 837–841. DOI:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.32174-2
Ross, A. D. 1969. Student Unrest in India: A Comparative Approach, Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773593756
Sastramidjaja, Y. (2019). Student Movements and Indonesia’s Democratic Transition. In M. Ford & T. Dibley (eds.), Activist in Transtition: Progressive Politics in Democratic Indonesia (pp. 23-40). Ithaca: Cornell University Press
Savirani, A. (2016, September 26). Continue the fight’!: a ‘98 activist reflects on the 2019 student movement in Indonesia. The Conversation. Diakses 13 Agustus 2013, dari: https://theconversation.com/continue-the-fight-a-98-activist-reflects-on-the-2019-student-movement-in-indonesia-124184.
Scott, J. W., & El-Assal, M. (1969). Multiversity, University Size, University Quality and Student Protest: An Empirical Study. American Sociological Review, 34(5), 702. https://doi.org/10.2307/2092306
Silalahi, R.M.P., Yuwono, U., & Aminda, Y.J. (2018). Values of Neoliberalism in Education: A Comparative Study Of Indonesian Presidential Speeches in the New Order and Reform Era. In M. Budianta, M. Budiman, A. Kusno & M. Moriyama (Ed.), Cultural Dynamics in a Globalized World. pp. 899-906. Routledge.
Sunendar, D., & Adriany, V. (2023). ‘It’s all about the product’: doing research in neoliberal times in Indonesian higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2023.2212438
Usman, S. (1999). Arah Gerakan Mahasiswa: Gerakan Politik Ataukah Gerakan Moral? Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 3(2). DOI: 10.22146/jsp.11136
Watson, S. (2022). Student activism: Learning through doing. Research. New Zealand Council for Educational. http://dx.doi.org/10.18296/rep.0020.
Weinberg, I., & Walker, K. N. (1969). Student Politics and Political Systems: Toward a Typology. American Journal of Sociology, 75(1), 77–96. https://doi.org/10.1086/224746
Weiss, M. L. and Aspinall, E. (2012). Student Activism in Asia: Between Protest and Powerlessness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Widjojo, M. (1999), Penakluk Rezim Orde baru, Gerakan Mahasiswa ’98. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v10i3.51485
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Fajar Shodiq Ramadlan, Muhammad Faishal Aminuddin, Alifan Bilgate
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
JWP (Jurnal Wacana Politik) Indexed By:
21.png)
Published By:
Departement of Political Science
Campus of Faculty of Social and Political Science
Universitas Padjajaran, Building D, 2nd floor
Jl. Raya Sumedang Km.21, Jatinangor, Sumedang
Creation is distributed below Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi 4.0 Internasional.