Neoliberal Nationalism in Television Commercials: Discursive Representations of Exploring and Entrepreneurial Indonesians

Abstract

The article examines the intertwinement of neoliberalism with nationalism and the new conceptualizations of Indonesianness that it generates. The principles of the two paradigms are often seen as antitheses, but this article shows that the growing neoliberal ideas and practices have informed notions of the nation and Indonesianness. The conjunction of the two paradigms indicates a shift in Indonesia, where until 1998, the state portrayed neoliberal principles as un‐Indonesian. Examining 212 nationalistic television commercials aired between 2005 and 2021, two discourses of Indonesianness can be identified. The first depicts Indonesians as passionately productive and entrepreneurial people, and the second frames the partaking in the marketization and promotion of exotic cultural diversity as acts of nationalism. These discourses reflect the growing acceptance of neoliberal values, especially among the middle class. Despite the relatively new conjunction of neoliberalism and nationalism, these new imaginings continue to build on the older state's discourse that excludes socio‐economic and ethnic minorities. Thus, diverging from the vision of a democratic post‐authoritarian Indonesia, this point of convergence between nationalism and neoliberalism continues to marginalize minorities.