Gubernatorial Election in Jakarta: A Political Network Analysis

This paper presents a network analysis to understand increasing influence of identity politics in the gubernatorial Jakarta by examining political actors who participated in that political competition. It focuses on political actors who were supported Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno. It examines actors’ relations. Any analysis on network relies on relations among the political actors. To understand identity politics this study adopts a network approach. It further evaluates how political actors could dictate agenda which was in line with the basic characteristics of identity politics. It is relevant here to mention that the Jakarta election took place in a political environment where conservative tendency in Islam is on the rise. This tendency should be understood as a continuation of the social and political development which took place in the late of the 1990s. This phenomenon seems to be provided a fertile ground to rise of conservative turn in the society after the fall of Suharto 1998. Furthermore, it argues that homophily, an indication to associate with those who share similar background or views, has an effect on the structure of a network, and it has the capability to set political agenda for the network. In a concrete term, it argues that the political network which supported Anies-Sandi was dominated by political actors who shared similar educational background of receiving their degree from the Saudi Arabia.