Identity politics and elections in Malaysia and Indonesia : ethnic engineering in Borneo / Karolina Prasad.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Prasad, Karolina, author.

Series:

Routledge contemporary Southeast Asia series ; 105.

Routledge contemporary Southeast Asia series ; 105

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elections.

Identity politics.

Sarawak (Malaysia)--Ethnic relations--Political aspects.

Sarawak (Malaysia).

Kalimantan Barat (Indonesia)--Ethnic relations--Political aspects.

Kalimantan Barat (Indonesia).

Identity politics--Malaysia--Sarawak.

Identity politics--Indonesia--Kalimantan Barat.

Elections--Malaysia--Sarawak.

Elections--Indonesia--Kalimantan Barat.

Ethnic relations--Political aspects.

Indonesia--Kalimantan Barat.

Malaysia--Sarawak.

Physical Description:

xv, 215 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.

Summary:

"In recent social research, ethnicity has mostly been used as an explanatory variable. It was only after it was agreed that ethnicity, in itself, is subject to change, were the questions of how and why it changes, possible to answer. This multiplicity of ethnic identities requires that we think of each society as one with multiple ethnic dimensions, of which any can become activated in the process of political competition - and sometimes several of them within a short period of time. Focusing on Malaysia and Indonesia, this book traces the variations of ethnic identity by looking at electoral strategies in two sub-national units. It shows that ethnic identities are subject to change - induced by calculated moves by political entrepreneurs who use identities as tools to maximize their chances of winning elections or expanding support base - and highlights how political institutions play an enormous role in shaping the modes and dynamics of these ethno-political manipulations. The book suggests that in societies where ethnic identities are activated in politics, instead of analysing politics with ethnic distribution as an independent variable, ethnic distribution can be taken as the dependent variable, with political institutions being the explanatory one. It examines the problems of voters' behaviour, and parties' and candidates' strategy in a polity that is, to a significant extent, driven by ethnic relations"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Theories, institutions and ethnicity

Sarawak: institutional and historical overview

Ethnic identity change in a consociational polity

West Kalimantan: institutional and historical overview

Identity activation in the new institutional setting

Sarawak and West Kalimantan: a comparison.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138854734

1138854735

OCLC:

911618160