Ethnic Identity Conflict and the Politicization of Primordialism: Group Boundary Construction, Communal Sentiment Mobilization, and the Negotiation of Multiculturalism in Postcolonial Plural Societies
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Abstract
The intersection of ethnic identity, political mobilization, and the management of cultural diversity constitutes one of the most consequential and theoretically challenging domains of contemporary sociology, particularly in postcolonial plural societies navigating the tensions between the universalist promises of democratic citizenship and the particularist claims of ethnic community membership. This article develops a theoretically integrated analysis of ethnic identity conflict and the politicization of primordialism in postcolonial plural societies, with particular attention to the Indonesian case, through a synthetic framework that integrates four analytical traditions: primordialism, constructivism, instrumentalism, and postcolonial theory. Drawing upon systematic review of empirical and theoretical literature and secondary analysis of Indonesian social cohesion and ethnic conflict data, the study examines three interrelated dynamics: (1) the construction and maintenance of ethnic group boundaries through the symbolic, institutional, and discursive practices through which ethnic communities demarcate themselves from others; (2) the politicization of primordial sentiments through elite manipulation, digital media amplification, and the structural incentives of competitive electoral politics; and (3) the negotiation of multiculturalism as an institutional and political project through which plural postcolonial societies attempt to manage ethnic diversity without suppressing it. The Indonesian case — with its 1,340 ethnic groups, 34 provinces, six recognized religions, and persistent patterns of ethnic conflict and accommodation — provides an extraordinarily rich empirical context for this theoretical analysis. The study contributes to debates on ethnic politics, multicultural governance, and the sociology of postcolonial societies by arguing that effective multicultural negotiation requires institutional frameworks capable of simultaneously recognizing ethnic difference and transcending ethnic division through inclusive civic identity.
Keywords
Ethnic identity; primordialism; constructivism; ethnic conflict; multiculturalism; postcolonial; Indonesia; group boundaries; communal mobilization; digital ethnicity; social cohesion
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