Abstracts & Bio Notes - Asian Studies Association of Australia

Bionote: Johan Weintré is finalising his candidature at Flinders University with a research focus
on natural resources, social capital and governance in several Dayak communities. This specific
interest in rural communities developed when he was a guest lecturer at the State University
of Semarang and researcher associate at Gadjah Mada University. Those positions enabled
him to observe social allegiances in remote locations in the Indonesian archipelago. In the
course of this research he has been able to compare and evaluate local interaction of various
groups and the socio-economic impact on natural resource management.
(johan.weintre@gmail.com)
YASIH, Diatyka Widya Permata and Andi Rahman Alamsyah (Universitas
Indonesia)
Title: Youth Identity and Local Democracy
Abstract: This paper seeks to dispel myths about young people as a positive political force that
has shaped youth identity in Indonesia, which have been reproduced as factual accounts of
historical developments, from the 1928 Youth Oath, to the 1974 Malari event, and the 1998
Reformasi. Data collected from fieldwork in a mining community in West Java is used to
illustrate how local elites in post-authoritarian Indonesia use youth identity to gain power and
protect their interests. The phenomenon itself is a product of decentralization, where local
democracy has opened spaces to mobilize political and economic resources, as well as myths
about young people in the struggle for power. Our argument challenges the tendencies of
previous studies to view young people as agent of democratic change and representation of
the people. It also questions the tendency to view the student movement as a non-partisan
voice, which contrasts starkly with the venal maneuvering of established political figures.
Bionote: Diatyka Widya Permata Yasih and Andi Rahman Alamsyah, Department of Sociology,
Faculty of Social and Political Science, University of Indonesia. (diatykawidya@gmail.com)
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