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60 Kenneth Young 60 CHAPTER 3 Malay Social Imaginaries: Nationalist and Other Collective Identities in Indonesia Kenneth Young By the late twentieth century, the conditions that sustain nationalism in Western societies — most notably in Europe — have changed. These institutional and socio-economic changes have led, in most parts of the Western world, to a fragmentation of the prevailing narratives of social identity; a plurality of overlapping claims to collective identity that work against the type of unchallengeable unitary vision that nationalism exercised a century ago. Consequently many scholarly approaches are wary of analyses that give too much emphasis to nationalism as a unifying and motivating force in society. This leaves them ill-prepared to appreciate the degree to which, in many parts of Asia, nationalism retains much of its vitality. In a number of countries — China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia1 come to mind, among others — the vigorous propagation of nationalist sentiment continues in the mass media, and through the major institutions of state and society. Indeed, nationalism could be seen as indispensible to national identity and social cohesion (Fitzgerald 1995) in particular Asian countries; so much so that there is a parallel risk of overestimating its influence. It has profound effects on the popular imagination, so it is too easy to accept the representations of the nationalist project as a state of affairs already achieved, and thereby miss its vulnerabilities and its unfinished, aspirational qualities. How do we get the balance right in assessing the influence of nationalism, and are we so impressed by its pervasive presence that we miss the full significance of a number of other enduring forms of collective identity? In the discussion that follows, I will consider several aspects of the trajectory of nationalism in Indonesia. In doing so, I want to expose some of the limitations of the analytical vocabulary we employ in Chap3 (60-90) 60 Chap3 (60-90) 60 4/19/12 2:21:21 PM 4/19/12 2:21:21 PM Nationalist and Other Collective Identities in Indonesia 61 trying to answer questions of this kind. That leads me to argue for the utility of the concept of “social imaginary” (Taylor 2004; Castoriadis 1998) over various other alternatives (“world-view”, etc.) which I will examine shortly. Nationalism articulates the claims of a people to exclusive sovereignty in a territory with which they have strong historical, cultural and other ties. The nationalist discourse of identity elaborates the special qualities that constitute this group as a “people”, and the reasons why they are able to claim the territory is theirs. Other forms of identity exist alongside, and sometimes even in opposition to, the historical, cultural and normative claims of the nationalists. These alternative identities may not, however , make the same kind of very specific and exclusive territorial claims. Since they do not seek state power, they are not so obviously opposed to the nationalist project. In many cases, theirs is an identity embedded in social practices, in collaborative networks and in a common lived experience. These are mutual connections and understandings that have little need of elaborate narratives of peoplehood or claims to territorial sovereignty. Joel Kahn (2006) has drawn attention to a large group of people who share an identity of this kind. He calls them “Other Malays”. They are found mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia, but are scattered throughout widely dispersed parts of insular and mainland Southeast Asia. Within Indonesia, the way of life of the Other Malays belongs most typically to communities found in “Outer Indonesia”, 2 setting up an implicit contrast with the situation in “Inner Indonesia” (Java, Madura and Bali). In his account, they are said to participate in an “imagined community”3 that is based on their way of life, extended social networks, and their shared cultural and religious orientation. He contrasts the shared identity of the Other Malays with Malaysian nationalism in particular, pointing to the way the Malay nationalist project came to rely on the idea of the Malay bangsa, or “race-nation”, as a foundation of its political and territorial claims. I will explore and question the singularity of the imagined community of the Other Malays, suggesting there are also other collective identities of this kind that exist alongside, or in spite of, the integrating and exclusionary projects of nation-states in the region. In doing so, I conclude that accounting for the durability of the identity of the Other Malays shows the need for more appropriate...

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