Identity Politics Within Indonesian Islamic Parties: Study of PKB and PKS

Abstract

This paper will focus on the issue of political behavior of the National Awakening party (PKB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) which are the two major Islamic parties in Indonesia. In the practice of managing relations with voters, it appears that the two Islamic parties often use religious attributes as a tool to influence voters to vote for those parties. The use of identity politics is allegedly a practical way to obtain maximum votes and legislative or executive positions. In this study the authors used the method of Explanatory cases with a Qualitative approach. Explanatory case study methods is used to explain more deeply the research questions that focus on PKB and PKS. The author's hypothesis is Political Islam represented by these two parties turns out to have to encourage compromise and pragmatic steps. Discourse on identity politics often used as a shield to advocate for their short-term political achievements. In turn, the struggle for Politic of Islamic identity may lead to all significant changes in internal party mechanisms and reinterpretation of party values in a more moderate direction and accommodating to their political environment.

Discursive Political Environment in Indonesian Political Parties: A Study on Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB)

“…This placement will make jam'iyyah NU have two movements at once. A number of congregations carried out political movements through the formation of political parties, other congregations and NU's own jam'iyyah remained consistent with the 1926 khitthah [19].…”

“…As we know, that area is an area with a number of elderly kiai and nahdhiyin residents who are the main supporters of PKB. The glory of this party continues to be seen with the number of votes that increased by 2 million votes in the 2019 elections [19].…”

“…Cultural means that the PKB struggle must pay attention to the unique cultural environment adhered to by NU, namely the cultural environment formed by the Islamic religious values of Ahlussunnah wal Jama'ah. Meanwhile, aspirational means that PKB is obliged to fight for the political ideals of NU citizens [19].…”

Structural Barrier in the Process of Regeneration of the PKB Islamic Political Party in Direct Presidential Elections 2004-2019

“…Coupled with the right political strategy and effective political positioning, PKB always manages to capture public attention (Y. Mayrudin & Akbar, 2019). The issue of Islamic political parties in Indonesia arises because they share the same market segment despite differing ideological genres, potentially giving rise to polarization among ideologies (Qodir et al, 2023).…”