Emojis in Digital Governance: Empirical Insights from Indonesian Ministries

This study explores how Indonesian ministries create impressions to the public through their use of emojis on X (previously Twitter ). Based on a qualitative content analysis of 1,897 tweets, this research finds evidence of the strategic use of emojis in ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, and supplication. The findings indicate that emojis are not only used to raise public engagement, but also to create an image of positivity and friendliness. Ingratiation and self-promotion emerged as the most salient strategies. This paper examines the role of emojis in government communication and contributes to the understanding of digital political communication with further practical insights into managing public relations for government agencies

Reclaiming an Anti-Tin Mining Territory: The Effectiveness of Formal Political Channels in East Belitung

Tin, a mineral abundant beneath the coastal waters of Bangka Belitung, has spurred large-scale mining expansion from land to the sea. This article investigates the phenomenon of “reclaiming an anti-mining territory” as a representation of the Belitung community’s resistance against tin mining expansion into the coastal sea of East Belitung. The article is the result of deep fieldwork conducted during 2017-2020, employing methods such as participant observation and in-depth interviews with PT Timah, district and provincial government, local academics, resistance groups, local CSOs, fishermen, maritime tourist entrepreneurs, and traditional miners. This study reveals the limitations of the common argument that often raises scepticism about the accommodation and effectiveness of formal political channels for civil society resistance during conflicts over the expansion of extractive industries. Through a case study of the successful community resistance in East Belitung against the expansion of coastal tin mining, this article demonstrates that under certain preconditions—specifically, when “anti-sea mining” becomes a popular electoral issue— two specific key conditions can enable formal political channels to be effective: the recentralisation of mining authority and the formation of alliances with political elites. The findings further illustrate that zoning regulations, which were established in response to grassroots aspirations, were adhered to by all stakeholders, including licensed mining companies. These findings also present an opportunity for sustainable natural resource governance reform, particularly in terms of civic engagement in natural resources management

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Political In(tolerance) among Islamists in Jakarta

Political intolerance—the unwillingness to accept the political freedom of those with differing views—has become an increasingly significant issue in Indonesia in recent years. The country began holding free and fair elections at the national level in 2004, with regional elections following shortly thereafter. Despite this progress, at least two surveys show that the level of political intolerance in Indonesia increased over time, peaking between 2017 and 2019. Several scholars have examined this issue in Indonesia through various perspectives, including online political intolerance. Others used the Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) method to measure the level of intolerance among particular groups. This research aims to expand the scholarship on political intolerance by examining the SDO levels among Islamists in Greater Jakarta, and whether the SDO levels positively correlate with their political intolerance. Using an explanatory approach with quantitative statistical analysis and qualitative in-depth interviews, this study examines the relationship between SDO levels and political intolerance. This study involves 265 Islamists in the Greater Jakarta region. The findings show that there is a positive correlation between the SDO levels and political intolerance, confirming the findings of previous studies that political intolerance usually parallels, and is built up by, higher levels of SDO among individuals. This is the first large study to investigate the level of SDO among Islamists in Jakarta

Systematic Literature Review of Environmental Impact Assessments

This article provides a systematic literature review (SLR) of Environmental Impact Assessments(EIA) in Public Administration (PA), analysing scholarly articles published between 1971 and 2023 through bibliometric and qualitative methods. Using VOSviewer for quantitative insights and qualitative analysis, the study comprehensively examines the evolution and thematic trends of EIA research. It identifies critical themes like public participation, regulatory frameworks, and environmental integration that shape EIA practices. Analysing 287 journal articles, the review shows that public participation is a dominant theme, reflecting a shift toward inclusive, participatory governance. This transition includes climate change considerations in EIA processes and the use of advanced technologies like remote sensing and AI to improve accuracy and efficiency. EIA research has evolved from strict regulatory compliance to broader, tech-enhanced, participatory approaches. This SLR tracks EIA studies' historical progression and diversification, revealing emerging trends and gaps while laying a foundation for future research. It offers valuable insights into environmental assessment and public policy, contributing significantly to environmental management discourse

Community-Based Social Marketing Strategy in Kampung Cibunut Berwarna: Advancing Edutourism in a Sustainable Circular Economy

This paper proposes a community-based social marketing model and outlines its role and methodology in developing a sustainable circular economy within internal brand-building. It broadens community- based social marketing by incorporating diverse education tourism (edutourism) activities within a sustainable circular economy, extending beyond traditional literature. Adopting a case study using an open-ended phenomenological approach, we collected data through five in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion. The participants were community leaders and members engaged in sustainable circular economy development in Kampung Cibunut Berwarna, Bandung, Indonesia. Additionally, we analysed related documents, including archival records and descriptions of internal processes, to complement the primary data. The findings provide empirical insights into change mechanism in community-based social marketing. Notably, visionary leaders, the ripple effect of edutourism, and content as a branding emblem help integrate sustainable circular economy behaviour into edutourism. While this study provides valuable insights into the practices in the research site, the case study may limit generalisability to larger areas and different societal challenges. Future research should test these propositions in diverse geographical contexts

Disaffected Coattail Effect: The Election Anomaly in Local Political Party in Aceh, Indonesia

This research explains how the Aceh Party, which supported Prabowo-Gibran in the 2024 presidential election, not only won the election in Aceh but also managed to secure more seats in the local parliament. This vote gain seemed anomalous when other supporting parties saw the negative coattail effect of the national political contestation. Aceh, a region synonymous with political Islam, became a vote bank for the Anies-Muhaimin candidate pair, who were associated with Islamism. As a result, the party supporting them secured a significant vote share in the Aceh legislative elections. The coattail effect also affected the parties supporting the other unpopular candidate pairs, Prabowo-Gibran and Ganjar-Mahfud, which experienced a decrease in the number of votes in the legislative elections. Diverting from the patterns, the Aceh Party supported Prabowo-Gibran yet managed to secure more seats in the parliament. It was the only political party supporting an unpopular candidate yet secured more seats in the parliament. This article analyses the factors that boosted the Aceh Party's votes in the 2024 elections. Based on the literature study, this article shows that the Aceh Party's victory was inseparable from the campaign strategy shift in local political contestation. Despite supporting unpopular candidates, the Aceh Party was able to translate ideology into a demarcation between national political interests in Jakarta and regional political interests in Aceh. The emphasis on cultural and local political identity has strengthened the Aceh Party's political base

The Feminisation of Indonesia’s Political Parties: Toward Feminised Parties?

The political representation of women in the Indonesian parliament has increased since the implementation of the affirmation policy through quotas, although the number has not yet reached 30%. In addition, the percentage of women placed in the management structure of political parties has also increased. In addition, the percentage of women's candidacy in each election period also showed an increasing trend. This article aims to analyse the feminisation process that occurred in ten political parties in the Indonesian reform era using the model of party responsiveness introduced by Lisa Young. By using a qualitative approach, in which data were obtained from interviews, party statutes (AD/ART), and documents of the Special Committee for the 2017 Election Bill, it was found that the feminisation of political parties in Indonesia is divided into two categories, namely responsive and co-optive. The difference in the level of feminisation is due to differences in party responses to three things namely, the number of women in the party’s structure, quota rules, and party responses to pro-women policies. Based on the mapping of political parties in Indonesia using a model of party responsiveness, it can be said that political parties experience limited feminisation where only the representational dimension shows a high tendency. However, in the policy dimension, most parties have a negative response. Therefore, the feminisation that occurs is half-hearted

Rethinking Value-added Tax Policy on Domestic Wastewater Treatment Services in Indonesia

The provision of wastewater treatment services is crucial for protecting human health and maintaining clean water availability. This goal is also a key priority in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the wastewater treatment sector in Indonesia is subject to Value-Added Tax (VAT), resulting in higher expenses for wastewater services, including the costs associated with tax collection. Excessive taxation, including VAT, might decrease the availability of domestic wastewater treatment services from the producers' side and restrict consumers' access to these services. Instead, tax policy should provide incentives for domestic wastewater services aiming to promote development. This study examines the adoption of a VAT policy for domestic wastewater treatment services in Indonesia, emphasising its effects on affordability and sustainability in domestic wastewater management and its policy alternatives. This study employs a qualitative approach. Field observations with in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions were conducted in several domestic wastewater treatment sites in DKI Jakarta, Medan, and Surakarta. These field observations were conducted to collect data and information about the business processes in the industries and taxation aspects, especially VAT that affects the industries. The results indicate that providing VAT facilities is crucial for advancing the SDGs program. The VAT facilities policy will result in more significant advantages for the government and society than the revenue forgone from the facilities. This study suggests that developing a policy regarding VAT facilities is essential for domestic wastewater treatment systems. The facilities should apply to services provided by local governments or private entities in collaboration with the government. This VAT incentive proposal is simplified due to its compliance with Article 4A paragraph (3) letter (m) of VAT Law No. 42 of 2009, recently amended by Law No. 7 of 2021. While this study has provided insights into the current situation, further studies need to be conducted to investigate VAT facilities' impact on producers and consumers in the wastewater treatment sector, including the multiplier effects of providing VAT incentives