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Abstract

In most studies on globalization and transnationalism, diaspora is positioned in a conflicting and antagonistic relationship with the nation-state regime. Nevertheless, the global ascendancy of neoliberalism as a market-based mode of governing populations has brought certain changes to the relationship between the diaspora and home countries which call for further research. This essay investigates the implications of neoliberalism for diasporic kinship ties by examining emergent discourses in contemporary Indonesia that constitute an elite-led project on diasporas known as the Indonesian Diaspora Network (IDN) Global. Based on a social constructionist analysis of data gathered from activities, media reporting, and promotional materials associated with IDN Global, this essay argues that neoliberal reconfigurations of Indonesian diasporic identities manifest in two ways: unequal representation between manual workers and professionals and change of rhetoric on kinship ties as a strategic asset. Such findings reveal a more complicated and calculative relationship between the Indonesian diaspora and the Indonesian home country that complicate the valorization of diaspora against national regimes.

Bahasa Abstract

Pada sebagian besar kajian globalisasi dan transnasionalisme, diaspora dan negara kerap didudukkan di dalam relasi yang berseberangan. Namun, dominasi neoliberalisme sebagai suatu logika dan tata laksana berbasis pasar membawa dampak pada relasi antara diaspora dan negara yang membutuhkan penelisikan lebih lanjut. Artikel ini melihat implikasi neoliberalisme dalam konteks Indonesia hari ini pada ikatan kekerabatan diaspora dengan menganalisis wacana-wacana yang terkait dengan sebuah proyek elite diaspora yang dikenal dengan Indonesian Diaspora Network (IDN) Global. Berdasarkan pendekatan konstruktivis sosial pada data yang dikumpulkan dari kegiatan, reportase media, dan materi promosi yang terkait dengan IDN Global, artikel ini berargumen bahwa rekonfigurasi neoliberal identitas diaspora Indonesia termanifestasi dalam dua bentuk: representasi tidak imbang antara pekerja manual dan pekerja profesional dan perubahan retorika ikatan kekerabatan sebagai aset strategis. Temuan ini memperlihatkan hubungan yang rumit dan kalkulatif antara diaspora Indonesia dan negara Indonesia yang mengintervensi valorisasi diaspora atas negara nasional.

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