Indonesia's democratic transition unleashed fierce electoral competition that, paradoxically, fueled religious nationalism from below — not through authoritarian imposition, but through rational outbidding among politicians, clerics, and media figures each vying to define authentic Muslim identity. Minorities such as Ahmadis, Shia Muslims, and LGBTQI people bore the cost of this dynamic. A comparison with non-democratic Malaysia reveals a strikingly similar outcome, suggesting regime type matters less than competition along identitarian lines. The case forces a harder question about liberal assumptions: under certain conditions, electoral democracy may erode pluralism rather than entrench it.
Mon 08.06.2026
12:15 -13:45 p.m.
Department of Southeast Asian Studies
Nassestraße 2, 53113 Bonn, 3rd floor