anthrakhan

[anthrakhan]

Centralization and the Inverse Empire

Broadly speaking, an empire is a state that encompasses many disparate groups, with a dominant core (metropole) and subordinate peripheries. Often added is the condition of a hierarchy in which a group, often of the metropole, sit higher than the others.

Usually brought into being through conquest, I think much the same conditions can come into being with inwards expansion, centralization, but without consolidation, of an existing state.

Indonesia I think in many ways is an empire, or at least to some degree, and on the course to an increasing degree, if deliberate action isn't taken.

What was once a sort of federation, born through shared struggle and a desire to stand on our two feet by getting together, the idea for an Indonesia, was born. Such a concept never truly existed, despite the whole Srivijaya and Majapahit thing (they were both primarily seeking the subordination of the isles beneath them, not the unity of them). The birth of this Identity was strong, and having a neutral, agreed-upon lingua franca played a massive role in this newborn identity of statehood and nationality to survive, and subordinate local, regional, and religious loyalties and identities beneath it.

Over the decades, and with the permanent cementing of this identity, this state has chugged along, but the natural course of development has brought the federation to a pseudo-empire

Jakarta-, and Java have grown to be the metropole, a natural course given geography and population and such and such, but it was left to continue on its course, if not encouraged to.

Indonesian binds the country together, and is a lingua franca and second language to the vast, vast majority of the people. But over in urban centres, especially in Java, generations have been raised only on it, with no local regional mother tongue. Moving into the cities, the various groups intermixing and intermingling, and the influence of globalisation, have slowly brought around a new generation, a new people, who are purely Indonesian with no regional local tribal ethnic identities, heritage, culture, or language. They (me) have a disconnect and a whole different identity than the majority of the populace. Your tribal ethnic affiliation is no more than a little fact and has absolutely no weight and significance, no one cares, in the metropole a new sort of creole exists. Not helped at all with continuing globalisation and the youth having even less heritage ties.

As the metropole, government and other powers are more centralised to metropole, and around its people. Only compounded by the fact of actual political centralisation.

And slowly there is more discontent growing at the current state of affairs, people feel everything is becoming more and more Java-centric, feel left behind, backwaters to the Java political machine.

The federation of vast groups, has birthed in its core, a new ruling class, and slowly the rest is subordinated. Inwards expansion. Centralisation. Inverse Empire.

#long form #indonesia #empire #language #nation state