Pergeseran Legitimasi Sosio-Kultural dalam Politik Identitas Lokal: Studi Politik Genealogis Dan Elektoral Di Pilkades Tohe Leten Kecamatan Raihat Kabupaten Belu Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur Tahun 2019
Keywords:
Identity politics, legitimacy, genealogy, village election, cultural hegemony, rural leadership
Abstract
This thesis explores the dynamics of identity politics and the shifting socio-cultural legitimacy in the 2019 village head election (Pilkades) of Tohe Leten, located in Raihat Subdistrict, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The study focuses on how traditional genealogical-based leadership selection patterns have gradually shifted towards more functional and inclusive political preferences, driven by social proximity, economic programs, and performance-based legitimacy. Using a qualitative descriptive method, data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis. The theoretical framework draws on identity politics and Gramscian cultural hegemony to analyze the articulation of power, identity, and legitimacy in the rural electoral context.
The findings reveal that while genealogical identity (uma or clan affiliation) still holds symbolic weight in village campaigns, it is no longer the sole determinant of electoral success. The victory of Wilhelmus Bau, a candidate from the minority Bunak ethnic group with non-dominant genealogical ties, signifies a major shift toward representational-functional legitimacy.
This shift is further influenced by everyday socioeconomic challenges, mobile communication technology, and the evolving expectations of village constituents. Identity politics in Tohe Leten has thus transitioned from being rigidly primordial to becoming more strategic, adaptive, and performance-oriented, reflecting a deepening of democratic engagement at the village level.
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Vel, J. A. C. (2008). Desa Membangun: Dynamics of Rural Politics in Indonesia. In J. Schiller & B. Martin-Schiller (Eds.), Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and Democratisation (pp. 151–175). ISEAS.
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Ekaputra, Y. (2020). Politik identitas dan kontestasi ruang perbatasan: Studi di Kabupaten Belu, NTT. Jurnal Politik Profetik, 8(1), 21–36.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers.
Hall, S. (1996). Who needs ‘identity’? In S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Questions of Cultural Identity (pp. 1–17). London: SAGE Publications.
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London: Verso.
Molon, R. A. (2015). Sistem kekerabatan dan struktur sosial masyarakat Belu. Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya, 17(1), 87–103.
Putra, Y. A., & Arifianto, A. R. (2021). Politik identitas dalam pemilihan kepala desa di Indonesia Timur: Antara afiliasi genealogis dan strategi elektoral. Jurnal Politik Lokal, 3(2), 89–107.
Rani, M. A., & Setiawan, I. (2020). Representasi identitas dan kekuasaan dalam kontestasi Pilkades: Studi kasus di NTT. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 41(1), 61–80.
Vel, J., & Bedner, A. (2015). Decentralisation and village governance in Indonesia: The return to the nagari and the 2014 Village Law. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 47(3), 493–507.
Li, T. M. (2007). The Will to Improve: Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Rani, M. A., & Setiawan, I. (2020). Representasi identitas dan kekuasaan dalam kontestasi Pilkades: Studi kasus di NTT. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 41(1), 61–80.
Scott, J. C. (1972). Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia. American Political Science Review, 66(1), 91–113.
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton University Press.
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Peraturan Bupati Belu No. 10 Tahun 2019 tentang Tata Cara Pemilihan Kepala Desa. Kabupaten Belu.
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Belu. (2021). Kabupaten Belu Dalam Angka 2021. Atambua: BPS Kabupaten Belu.
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Belu. (2022). Kecamatan Raihat Dalam Angka 2022. Atambua: BPS Kabupaten Belu.
Carsten, J. (2004). After Kinship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chandra, K. (2006). What is ethnic identity and does it matter? Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 397–424. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.062404.170715
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
DiMaggio, P., Evans, J., & Bryson, B. (1996). Have Americans’ social attitudes become more polarized? American Journal of Sociology, 102(3), 690–755. https://doi.org/10.1086/230995
Eriksen, T. H. (2010). Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press.
Horowitz, D. L. (1985). Ethnic Groups in Conflict. University of California Press.
Fealy (Eds.), Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and Democratisation (pp. 187–204). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction. New York: Pantheon.
Fox, J. J. (2006). Comparing local cultures in East Indonesia: The use of the house societies approach. In J. J. Fox (Ed.), Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living (pp. 1–28). ANU Press.
Fox, J. J. (2006). Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living. Canberra: ANU Press.
Kemendesa PDTT. (2023). Laporan Realisasi Dana Desa Tahun 2022–2023. Jakarta: Kementerian Desa, Pembangunan Daerah Tertinggal, dan Transmigrasi.
Prokopim Kabupaten Belu. (2024, Mei 11). Kades Tohe Leten Sampaikan Potensi Desa di Hadapan Bupati Belu. Retrieved from https://prokopim.belukab.go.id
Geertz, C. (1961). The religion of Java. Free Press.
Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identity and diaspora. In J. Rutherford (Ed.), Identity: Community, culture, difference (pp. 222–237). Lawrence & Wishart.
Hadiz, V. R. (2010). Localising power in post-authoritarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia perspective. Stanford University Press.
Henley, D. (2012). The genealogical charter in Southeast Asia. In R. Michael Feener & T. Sevea (Eds.), Islamic connections: Muslim societies in South and Southeast Asia (pp. 89–106). ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.
Iyengar, S., Sood, G., & Lelkes, Y. (2012). Affect, not ideology: A social identity perspective on polarization. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(3), 405–431. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs038
Kuper, A. (1999). Culture: The anthropologists' account. Harvard University Press.
Kombi.id. (2024). Sedikit Mengenal Sastra Lisan Suku Tetun yang Masih Eksis Hingga Saat Ini.
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy: Towards a radical democratic politics. Verso.
Molnar, A. K. (2010). Timor Leste: Politics, History, and Culture. Routledge.
Therik, G. (2004). Wehali: The Female Land: Traditions of a Timorese Ritual Centre. Pandanus Books.
Molon, R. A. (2015). Sistem kekerabatan dan struktur sosial masyarakat Belu. Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya, 17(1), 87–
Mietzner, M. (2018). Fighting illiberalism with illiberalism: Islamist populism and democratic deconsolidation in Indonesia. Pacific Affairs, 91(2), 261–282. https://doi.org/10.5509/2018912261
Nandy, A. (1983). The intimate enemy: Loss and recovery of self under colonialism. Oxford University Press.
Pratikno. (2005). Political decentralization in Indonesia: A new agenda for local politics? In E. Aspinall & G. Fealy (Eds.), Local power and politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and democratisation (pp. 69–85). ANU Press.
Purwaningsih, E. (2021). Polarisasi politik dalam pemilihan kepala desa: Studi kasus di Kabupaten Banyumas. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 24(1), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.62438
Scott, J. C. (1972). Patron-client politics and political change in Southeast Asia. The American Political Science Review, 66(1), 91–113. https://doi.org/10.2307/1959280
Sumarto, M. (2011). Polarisasi politik dalam pemilihan kepala daerah di Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 14(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.22146/jsp.10943
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Taylor, C. (1994). Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Vel, J., Zakaria, Y., & Bedner, A. (2017). Law-making as a strategy for change: Indonesia’s new village law. Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 18(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2016.1267943
Vel, J. A. C. (2008). Desa Membangun: Dynamics of Rural Politics in Indonesia. In J. Schiller & B. Martin-Schiller (Eds.), Local Power and Politics in Indonesia: Decentralisation and Democratisation (pp. 151–175). ISEAS.
Winarno, B., & Cahyono, H. (2020). Polarisasi politik dan dampaknya terhadap pembangunan desa pasca pilkades. Jurnal Politik Profetik, 8(2), 112–128. https://doi.org/10.24252/profetik.v8i2.14635
Ekaputra, Y. (2020). Politik identitas dan kontestasi ruang perbatasan: Studi di Kabupaten Belu, NTT. Jurnal Politik Profetik, 8(1), 21–36.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers.
Hall, S. (1996). Who needs ‘identity’? In S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Questions of Cultural Identity (pp. 1–17). London: SAGE Publications.
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London: Verso.
Molon, R. A. (2015). Sistem kekerabatan dan struktur sosial masyarakat Belu. Jurnal Masyarakat dan Budaya, 17(1), 87–103.
Putra, Y. A., & Arifianto, A. R. (2021). Politik identitas dalam pemilihan kepala desa di Indonesia Timur: Antara afiliasi genealogis dan strategi elektoral. Jurnal Politik Lokal, 3(2), 89–107.
Rani, M. A., & Setiawan, I. (2020). Representasi identitas dan kekuasaan dalam kontestasi Pilkades: Studi kasus di NTT. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 41(1), 61–80.
Vel, J., & Bedner, A. (2015). Decentralisation and village governance in Indonesia: The return to the nagari and the 2014 Village Law. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 47(3), 493–507.
Li, T. M. (2007). The Will to Improve: Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Rani, M. A., & Setiawan, I. (2020). Representasi identitas dan kekuasaan dalam kontestasi Pilkades: Studi kasus di NTT. Jurnal Antropologi Indonesia, 41(1), 61–80.
Scott, J. C. (1972). Patron-Client Politics and Political Change in Southeast Asia. American Political Science Review, 66(1), 91–113.
Young, I. M. (1990). Justice and the Politics of Difference. Princeton University Press.
Dinas PMD Kabupaten Belu. (2020). Laporan Pelaksanaan Pemilihan Kepala Desa Serentak Tahun 2019 Kabupaten Belu. Atambua: Pemerintah Kabupaten Belu.
Peraturan Bupati Belu No. 10 Tahun 2019 tentang Tata Cara Pemilihan Kepala Desa. Kabupaten Belu.
Published
2025-11-30
How to Cite
Engelbert Talok, Y., Basa Alim Tualeka, & Frederick Fernandez. (2025). Pergeseran Legitimasi Sosio-Kultural dalam Politik Identitas Lokal: Studi Politik Genealogis Dan Elektoral Di Pilkades Tohe Leten Kecamatan Raihat Kabupaten Belu Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur Tahun 2019. Journal Governance and Politics (JGP), 5(2), 1-11. Retrieved from https://jurnal.iyb.ac.id/index.php/jgp/article/view/518
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Articles
Copyright (c) 2025 Yonas Engelbert Talok, Basa Alim Tualeka, Frederick Fernandez
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