Conference | Leiden University Nationalism Network
Forum: Nationalism in East Asia
- Adrian Perkasa (KITLV), Iqra Anugrah (University of Turin), Dechun Zhang (University of Copenhagen)
- Date
- Thursday 5 June 2025
- Time
- Series
- Leiden University Nationalism Network events
- Location
-
Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden - Room
- 1.84
Programme
Three promising scholars present their views on various aspects of nationalism in Indonesia and China.
Adrian Perkasa, The Rise, Evolution and Demise of Javanese Nationalism (1918-1966)
Since Javanese nationalism in the end was unsuccessful, it has barely been studied. Nonetheless, Javanese nationalism was an important factor in the 1920s as intellectuals connected to the Java Institute developed many ideas about a separate Javanese nation, with its own historically grown identity. Even though the Javanese ‘nation’ became part of the larger Indonesian nation-state, I will make clear that many ideas and symbols related to Javanese nationalism continued to play an important role after 1945.
Iqra Anugrah, Right-Wing Cultural Nationalism in Indonesia
As part of a larger project on the evolution of Indonesian conservatism (1945-2020), I will analyse the presence of conservative and populist voices (both Islamist and nationalist variants) from Indonesia in cultural practices and social media. I will show the intersection between these new forms of communication and the evolution of conservative political ideas and practices, while also discussing how the recent revival of authoritarian conservatism reverberates in Indonesian culture and cyberspace.
Dechun Zhang, Crisis, Propaganda, and Participation: Co-Producing Nationalism on Chinese Social Media
In my lecture I examine how the Chinese state and the online public co-produced digital nationalism on Weibo during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how the state shifted its propaganda toward emotionally resonant narratives while subtly fostering public participation. The study highlights the dynamic interplay between top-down messaging and bottom-up expressions of nationalism. It argues that digital nationalism served as a tool for crisis communication, public negotiation, and even critique—ultimately contributing to authoritarian resilience in China’s digital sphere.
Speakers
Adrian Perkasa is a postdoctoral researcher at KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies - Leiden. He just received his PhD at Leiden University with a dissertation about the role of the Java-Institute in the rise of Javanese cultural nationalism and its impact on the evolution of Indonesian nationalism.
Iqra Anugrah has a PhD in Political Science and Southeast Asian Studies from Northern Illinois University. Currently he is a research fellow at the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Modern Cultures at the University of Turin and the International Institute for Asian Studies at Leiden University, where he works on the political theory of conservatism in modern Indonesia.
Dechun Zhang is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Communication at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He began his PhD at Leiden University, Netherlands, in 2020. His research interests include political communication, digital propaganda, online participation, and digital nationalism.
How to Attend
Open to all staff and students — no need to register in advance.