Rethinking the globalization through the lens of indonesian traditional political culture

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify original Indonesian approaches to the globalization phenomenon from Indonesia’s political culture standpoint, bearing in mind also the socio-political thought of the Indonesian people, as well as the historical and cultural features of the Indonesian statehood formation. The author analyzes the assumption that Indonesian society and the elites share original globalization perception, thus Indonesia’s self-positioning in a globalizing world is not only a matter of diplomacy or politics, but also a question of political philosophy and social psychology. From the point of methodology, the author relies on constructivism IR theory, as it necessary to study the Indonesian beliefs set regarding globalization and world development processes. As a result, the author concludes that the pandemic consequences and international crises are increasingly dividing the world, and globalization is often considered stalled, however, for the Indonesian mindset, globalization is an important world order element, while it is perceived not as total westernization or neocolonialism, but as a fair exchange between sovereign nations. The research contribution is also determined by the need to analyze non-Western approaches to key world development issues and the international actor’s communication, considering the transformation of the contemporary IR system and the global politics shift to the Asia-Pacific region.