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Tag: Asian & Pacific Studies

  • Adaptive dynastic politics linked to democratic decline in Indonesia

    Adaptive dynastic politics linked to democratic decline in Indonesia

    What the study found

    The study identifies "adaptive dynastic politics" as a distinct pattern in Indonesia during the Jokowi era, meaning political family rule that uses context-specific legitimacy building, mixed institutional tactics, digital coordination, and coalition management. The authors say this pattern was associated with democratic deterioration rather than open institutional collapse.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that this pattern shows how political dynasties can manipulate democratic institutions while keeping electoral legitimacy. They also suggest it offers insight into institutional manipulation in other developing democracies.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers examined Indonesia from 2014 to 2024 using content analysis of 847 media articles and elite interviews. They also used process tracing, which is a way of linking events step by step to a causal pathway, to connect dynastic mechanisms with changes in democratic institutions.

    What worked and what didn't

    The abstract says constitutional engineering allowed family succession despite age requirements, and coordinated pressure produced 81% parliamentary control. It also reports that digital operations used 90-billion-rupiah government resources, while resistance from civil society, independent media, and judicial factions was real but mostly unsuccessful.

    What to keep in mind

    The available summary does not provide detailed limits beyond the scope of the Indonesia case and the Jokowi-era focus. The abstract presents the findings as evidence of causal links, but only the information given here can be summarized.

    • The study describes "adaptive dynastic politics" as a distinct form of political family rule in Indonesia.
    • Democratic indicators in Indonesia declined from 57/100 to 56/100 on Freedom House during the period discussed.
    • The abstract says constitutional engineering enabled family succession despite age requirements.
    • The authors report 81% parliamentary control and 90-billion-rupiah government resources for digital operations.
    • Resistance from civil society, independent media, and judicial factions is described as significant but mostly unsuccessful.

  • Indonesian Doomscrolling Scale showed a 15-item structure

    What the study found

    The Indonesian version of the Doomscrolling Scale showed a single-factor, or unidimensional, structure with 15 items. It also showed excellent internal consistency, meaning the items were highly consistent with one another.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that the scale is a viable initial instrument for future research and digital literacy initiatives. The study suggests this is important because there had not been a validated instrument to assess doomscrolling in Indonesia.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers examined the structural validity and internal reliability of the Indonesian version of the Doomscrolling Scale. They surveyed 502 social media users aged 18–40 years in 2025 through an online Google Forms questionnaire and analyzed the data with confirmatory factor analysis using JASP software.

    What worked and what didn't

    The results supported a unidimensional factor structure made up of 15 items. The scale also had excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha reported as 0.939.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract describes validation and reliability testing only; it does not report other psychometric properties or longer-term testing. The findings are based on one sample of Indonesian social media users aged 18–40 years.

    • The Indonesian Doomscrolling Scale was supported as a 15-item, single-factor measure.
    • Internal consistency was excellent, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.939.
    • The study surveyed 502 Indonesian social media users aged 18–40 years.
    • Data were collected in 2025 through an online Google Forms questionnaire.
    • The authors say the scale is a viable initial instrument for future research and digital literacy initiatives.

  • Confucianism presents tianming as both philosophical and religious

    What the study found

    The study finds that the mandate of Heaven, or tianming, is a basic belief in ancient China that Confucianism developed into both a philosophical concept and a religious idea. It says these two Confucian perspectives on tianming coexist, one serving intellectual elites and the other offering a shared religious belief for ordinary people.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors suggest this dual role helps Confucianism support both humanistic spirit and religious belief. They also conclude that the concepts of tianming and related religious ideas contain a humanistic spirit that fits modern society.

    What the researchers tested

    This article is a research article focused on the historical and conceptual development of tianming in ancient China. It traces the idea back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties and describes its development during the Hundred Schools of Thought and later Confucianism, especially state Confucianism from the Han Dynasty onward.

    What worked and what didn't

    The article reports that tianming's religiosity was inherited and developed within Confucianism, while its philosophical side was also expanded. It presents this as a successful coexistence of two related perspectives rather than a conflict.

    What to keep in mind

    The available summary does not describe a specific dataset, formal method, or detailed evidence base. It also does not report any limitations beyond the historical and conceptual scope of the article.

    • Tianming, or the mandate of Heaven, is described as a fundamental belief in ancient China.
    • The article says Confucianism developed tianming into both a philosophical and a religious concept.
    • The two Confucian perspectives on tianming are described as coexisting harmoniously.
    • The study says this dual role serves intellectual elites and common people in different ways.
    • The authors conclude that tianming carries a humanistic spirit that resonates with modern society.

  • Macassan Muslim contact shaped limited Aboriginal Islamic adoption

    What the study found

    The article argues that Macassan Muslims from Makassar, Sulawesi, were among the earliest traders to interact with Aboriginal peoples in northern Australia and helped introduce Islam to the region. It says that among the Yolŋu of Arnhem Land, some people adopted Islamic practices, but many did so only in part, while a minority fully embraced Islam, especially through intermarriage.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that these encounters help fill a gap in scholarship about Islam at the edge of its historical reach in Australia. The study suggests this history is important for understanding the cultural and spiritual encounters between Islam and Aboriginal communities.

    What the researchers tested

    The article provides a comprehensive analysis of interactions between Macassan Muslims and Aboriginal Australians, with particular attention to the Yolŋu. It examines the introduction of Islam, syncretism, Sufi influence, and what the author calls "incomplete" Islamic conversion, drawing on interdisciplinary sources and empirical data.

    What worked and what didn't

    The analysis finds evidence of syncretism, meaning the blending of religious traditions, and notes Sufi influence in these encounters. It also reports that northern Aboriginal peoples often adopted only certain Islamic practices, while a smaller number fully converted, especially those who intermarried.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not give detailed information about the specific sources, data, or analytical steps used. It also focuses mainly on the Yolŋu and northern Aboriginal peoples, so the summary should not be taken as describing all Aboriginal communities equally.

    • Macassan Muslims from Makassar were early traders who interacted with Aboriginal peoples in northern Australia.
    • The article says Islam was introduced to the region through these encounters, especially among the Yolŋu.
    • Many Aboriginal adopters are described as practicing only part of Islam rather than converting fully.
    • A minority fully embraced Islam, particularly in cases of intermarriage.
    • The authors frame the study as addressing a gap in scholarship about Islam in Australia.

  • Spiritual legitimacy shaped maternal referral decisions in Akit care

    What the study found

    The study found that spiritual legitimacy functioned as a symbolic infrastructure in maternal referral pathways among the Akit Indigenous community in Riau, Indonesia. It also found that referral delays were linked to negotiations to secure spiritual safety and moral accountability, rather than simple rejection of biomedical care.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors suggest that maternal health in Indigenous communities can be under-recognised when it is interpreted only through biomedical frameworks. They conclude that the findings highlight the need for culturally safe referral governance.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers conducted an interpretivist ethnography between September 2024 and March 2025. They used in-depth interviews with 29 participants, participant observation, and reflexive fieldnotes, and analysed the data with Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

    What worked and what didn't

    Five mechanisms were identified as part of spiritual legitimacy: anak inang, bedekeh–libun, selusuh and amulets, the bomoh as a collective decision-maker, and a hierarchy in which biomedical interventions typically require prior spiritual approval. Together, these mechanisms were described as generating moral time, which shaped when clinical escalation became socially legitimate.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary does not provide quantitative outcome measures or a comparison group. It also focuses on one Indigenous community in Indonesia, so the abstract does not state that the findings apply beyond that setting.

    • Spiritual legitimacy was described as a symbolic infrastructure in maternal referral pathways.
    • The study involved 29 interviews, participant observation, and reflexive fieldnotes.
    • Five mechanisms were identified, including ritual kinship, ritual cleansing, amulets, and bomoh-led decisions.
    • Biomedical intervention was described as typically needing prior spiritual approval.
    • Referral delays were linked to negotiations for spiritual safety and moral accountability.

  • Ming-Qing morality books linked animal ethics to karmic justice

    What the study found

    The study finds that Ming–Qing morality books linked actions toward animals, such as killing or saving them, to karmic reward and punishment. It presents this as a system that joins moral accounting, narrative of karmic cause and effect, and animal ethics into one framework.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that this framework cultivates ecological consciousness and social discipline. The study suggests it also challenges a strictly human-centered worldview by emphasizing shared moral obligations between humans and animals.

    What the researchers tested

    The article examines Ming and Qing morality books, also called 勸善書, as a religio-ecological framework. It analyzes how animals, Ledgers of merit and demerit (功過格, record-keeping systems that track moral actions), and karmic retribution (業報) are integrated, and it compares this model with modern environmental ethics and animal-rights ideas.

    What worked and what didn't

    The study identifies a triadic framework made up of merit–demerit ledgers, karmic narrative, and animal ethics as a coherent system of measurable and actionable ethical practice. It also reports points of convergence with anti-speciesism, animal welfare and rights discourse, and proposals for cross-species political communities, while noting structural divergence from those modern approaches.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not provide detailed empirical methods or specific case analyses. It also only states, in general terms, that a “revised morality book” framework is proposed for present-day conditions; detailed limits, criteria, or implementation steps are not described in the available summary.

    • Ming–Qing morality books tied treatment of animals to karmic reward and punishment.
    • The study presents merit–demerit ledgers, karmic narrative, and animal ethics as a triadic framework.
    • The authors say the framework can cultivate ecological consciousness and social discipline.
    • The article compares this historical model with anti-speciesism, animal welfare and rights, and cross-species political community proposals.
    • The authors propose a revised morality book framework that they describe as more publicly defensible and more suitable for institutions.

  • Yogyakarta’s garbage emergency reflects structural waste inequality

    What the study found

    The article argues that the “garbage emergency” in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, reflects deeper structural conditions of socio-spatial inequality and environmental injustice. It links the closure of the Piyungan landfill to a wider pattern in which waste is pushed onto peripheral “sacrifice zones” and managed by informal workers with little protection.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors suggest that the garbage emergency framing both comes from and helps maintain conditions of neglect and disavowal. They conclude that waste should be rethought as a socio-ecological crisis, not just a technical disposal issue, and that it requires more than techno-bureaucratic solutions.

    What the researchers tested

    This is a conceptual article focused on the waste crisis in Yogyakarta, especially the closure of the province’s largest landfill in Piyungan. The authors draw on Timothy Morton’s concept of a hyperobject, its political reworking as hyperabject by Mikkel Krause Frantze and Jens Bjering, and Rob Nixon’s idea of slow violence.

    What worked and what didn't

    The article presents the “garbage emergency” framing as a way that can reveal and also reproduce structural problems shaped by neglect and disavowal. It also describes urban waste management that externalizes untreated waste to suburban zones and relies on informal labor with minimal protection. The abstract does not report empirical tests, measured outcomes, or counterresults.

    What to keep in mind

    The available summary does not describe specific data, methods of collection, or a comparative design. It also does not provide detailed limitations beyond its own emphasis on conceptual framing and the Yogyakarta case.

    • The article focuses on Yogyakarta’s garbage emergency after the closure of the Piyungan landfill.
    • It argues that waste management is tied to socio-spatial inequality and environmental injustice.
    • The authors describe suburban “sacrifice zones” where informal workers manage untreated waste with minimal protection.
    • They use the ideas of hyperobject, hyperabject, and slow violence to interpret the crisis.
    • The abstract says waste should be treated as a socio-ecological crisis, not only a disposal problem.

  • Muslim Nesan is described as a catalyst for Muslim reform in colonial Ceylon

    What the study found

    The study finds that Muslim Nesan, the newspaper founded by M.C. Siddi Lebbe in 1882, served as an important voice for marginalized Muslims in colonial Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It is described as contributing to intellectual, cultural, religious, and political awakening within the community.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors suggest that the newspaper mattered because it helped reshape Muslim identity and supported community resistance to colonial influence and missionary interference. They conclude that it fostered an embrace of modern knowledge integrated with Islamic values.

    What the researchers tested

    The study uses a mixed-methods approach, drawing mainly on secondary data. It analyzes extant issues of Muslim Nesan and relevant historical and cultural publications through historical thematic and descriptive analysis.

    What worked and what didn't

    The newspaper is reported to have functioned as a platform between 1882 and 1889, with 48 published issues. According to the abstract, these issues promoted Muslim upliftment through educational reform, social progress, religious restoration, and resistance against colonial rule and missionary interference.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not describe detailed limitations of the study. It also focuses on one newspaper and one historical period, so the summary is limited to the evidence and scope described there.

    • Muslim Nesan is presented as a key voice in a Muslim renaissance in colonial Sri Lanka.
    • The paper links the newspaper to educational reform, social progress, and religious restoration.
    • The study says the newspaper helped encourage resistance to colonial rule and missionary interference.
    • The analysis is based mainly on extant issues of Muslim Nesan and related historical and cultural publications.
    • The abstract says 48 issues were published between 1882 and 1889.

  • Aceh oral tradition preserves a different Gajah Mada narrative

    What the study found

    The study found that the people of Tamiang in Aceh remember the Majapahit Kingdom and Patih Gajah Mada differently from the commonly accepted account. Their oral tradition includes different versions of Gajah Mada’s existence and death, shaped by local collective memory.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that socio-cultural and political context can shape how a story is remembered and passed down. They suggest that further research on connections between ancient kingdoms in the region is needed to better understand the relationship between Indonesia’s historical and ethnographic landscapes.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers examined how the Majapahit story is reproduced in the collective memory of Aceh’s Tamiang people as recorded in oral tradition. They compared these local narratives with the commonly accepted version of events associated with Java, where Majapahit was centered.

    What worked and what didn't

    The study reports that local memory in Tamiang includes different accounts of Gajah Mada’s existence and death. It also notes that historical artifacts and details such as place names and object names helped reproduce contextualized local narratives that differ from the dominant narrative.

    What to keep in mind

    The abstract does not describe the full methods, sample size, or specific oral-tradition sources used. It also does not provide detailed evidence for each local account beyond noting that the study found differing versions in this locality.

    • Aceh’s Tamiang people preserve oral accounts of Majapahit and Gajah Mada that differ from the dominant version.
    • The local narrative includes different accounts of Gajah Mada’s existence and death.
    • The authors say socio-cultural and political context can shape how narratives are remembered and transmitted.
    • Historical artifacts and place or object names are described as part of how these local narratives were reproduced.
    • The authors suggest more research on connections between ancient kingdoms in the region.

  • War drove severe, prolonged staple food price spikes in Indonesia

    What the study found

    The study found that staple food prices rose more sharply and for longer than earlier studies had assumed during the Indonesian War of Independence. It also found that high rice prices were partly linked to the first large Dutch military operation, Operation Product, and that urban unskilled wage labourers often had very low nutritional status in 1946 and the first half of 1947.

    Why the authors say this matters

    The authors conclude that the findings point to broader entitlement failures, meaning people lacked reliable access to food, because market connections were weak during military and economic warfare. The study suggests that wartime price changes were not just background conditions but part of the conflict's dynamics.

    What the researchers tested

    The researchers compiled a dataset of more than 8,600 staple food prices from across the Indonesian archipelago covering 1939 to 1949. They used these data to estimate the effects of wartime conditions and the main Dutch military campaigns on food prices, and combined them with a second dataset on wartime wages to estimate nutritional standards.

    What worked and what didn't

    The price data show wartime peaks that were more severe and prolonged than earlier studies had suggested, both inside and outside Java. The study also shows that after the military campaign ended, rice prices fell significantly across Java and Sumatra. Using wages and prices together, the authors estimate that urban unskilled wage labourers were often below the family subsistence level in 1946 and early 1947.

    What to keep in mind

    The summary does not describe detailed limitations of the data or methods. The findings are specific to Indonesia during 1939 to 1949 and to the wartime price and wage datasets used in the study.

    • More than 8,600 staple food prices were compiled from across the Indonesian archipelago for 1939-49.
    • Wartime staple food price peaks were more severe and longer-lasting than earlier studies had assumed.
    • High rice prices were partly linked to the launch of Operation Product.
    • Rice prices fell significantly across Java and Sumatra after the military campaign ended.
    • Urban unskilled wage labourers often had nutrition below family subsistence levels in 1946 and early 1947.