Network Governance and Religious Tolerance: A Comparison of Indonesian Cities

• In Event: Religion and Politics beyond the Nation-State

Abstract

This study discusses the spatial variation of religious intolerance at the subnational level. It specifically aims to explain the variation of religious intolerance across cities in Indonesia by questioning why some cities in Indonesia manage to remain religiously harmonious and thus become more tolerant, whereas others experience enduring religious intolerant actions. Cities in Indonesia differ in terms of religious tolerance level. Setara Institute’s 2022 Tolerance City Index (TCI) reveals that cities such as Salatiga, Semarang, and Magelang are more tolerant than cities such as Padang, Depok, and Cilegon. Existing studies on the variation of religious tolerance have focused on variables such as historical institutionalism (Bertrand, 2004), civic engagement (Varshney, 2002), religious markets (Pelletier, 2021), and electoral politics (Ingram & da Costa, 2019), with no concluding results. Borrowing a theoretical framework on network governance developed by public policy studies, this paper hypothesizes that the network traits of local government influence the religious tolerance level of a city. This paper further argues that the higher the network governance of a city is, the more it will accommodate various interests and resolve religious conflicts more peacefully. Whereas in cities where network governance is low, local governments do not work collaboratively with local political actors and religious leaders, intolerant religious mobilizations tend to emerge from fragmented and conflicting local elites and thus cases of religious intolerance are difficult to resolve. Using qualitative and comparative methods, this study conducted 66 interviews with local government executives and legislators, local religious leaders, local political actors, and local activists and researchers in 7 cities (Bandung, Depok, Surakarta, Semarang, Madiun, Malang, and Surabaya) in three provinces in Indonesia (West, Central, and East Java). This study contributes to the theoretical debates in comparative politics on the study of religious tolerance at local levels with an emphasis on a subnational and spatial approach.

Authors

• Fnu Testriono, Indonesian International Islamic University

• Ja'far Muhammad, Indonesian International Islamic University

• Mohammad Fazrulzaman Azmi, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia

• Yudi Zulfahri, Indonesian International Islamic University