Journal Review: THE NARRATIVE DISCOURSE OF INTERETHNIC BEHAVIOURS AND RELATIONS: THE CONTESTATION OF ETHNIC IDENTITY by Susana Widyastuti

Title                 :	THE NARRATIVE DISCOURSE OF INTERETHNIC BEHAVIOURS AND RELATIONS: THE CONTESTATION OF ETHNIC IDENTITY
Author             :	Susana Widyastuti
Journal            :	LITERA
Publication      :	Vol 18, No 3: NOVEMBER 2019
Abstract           :	Drawing from Discursive Social Psychology (DSP) (Potter, 1998; Potter & Edwards, 2001), this study is concerned with how attitudes, behaviours, and identity can be observed through language in use or discourse. Focusing on the narratives of the marginalized Chinese Indonesians, the study is particularly aimed at revealing behaviours in coping with the majority group, and how such behaviours may in turn shape intergroup relations and ethnic identity. The data were in the form of narratives of personal experience of Chinese Indonesians collected through interviews which were then scrutinized through in-depth analysis within their socio-political contexts. It has been revealed that in dealing with unequal power relations, two behaviours are embraced – convergence and divergence – which are manifested in various discursive and social practices of adapting to the wider society and maintaining aspects of ethnic identity. Any choice of behaviours can have consequences for interethnic relations and ethnic identities. The ideological power exercised by different regimes has obviously constructed ethnic identities and thus made it historically and ideologically contested. The contestation is discursively articulated through the negotiation between ethnic and national identity, the labelling practice using the words Cina and Tionghoa, and the perpetuation of stereotypes associated with the ethnic group.
Goals               :	revealing behaviours in coping with the majority group, and how such behaviours may in turn shape intergroup relations and ethnic identity.
Problems         :	The majority here refers to the mainstream, who call themselves as ‘Indonesians’ inheriting the Indonesian ‘indigenous blood’. It is the ‘blood’ which was believed to become the basis of othering practices of Chinese Indonesians for generations separating the non-native from the native Indonesians. Although this nativenessbased distinction has been banned by the current government (Aguilar, 2001) and Chinese Indonesians themselves have been an integral part of Indonesia for generations, they have been othered from the whole community of the nation for various socio-political reasons throughout history.
Theories          :	It has been revealed that in dealing with unequal power relations, two behaviours are embraced – convergence and divergence – which are manifested in various discursive and social practices of adapting to the wider society and maintaining aspects of ethnic identity. Any choice of behaviours can have consequences for interethnic relations and ethnic identities. The ideological power exercised by different regimes has obviously constructed ethnic identities and thus made it historically and ideologically contested. The contestation is discursively articulated through the negotiation between ethnic and national identity, the labelling practice using the words Cina and Tionghoa, and the perpetuation of stereotypes associated with the ethnic group.
Methods          :	This study adopts the principles of Discursive Social Psychology (DSP) (e.g. Potter, 1998; Potter & Edwards, 2001; Wetherell, 2007), the application of concepts from discourse analysis to central topics in social psychology, in order to reveal the discursive patterns of the emerging social psychological issues, i.e. attitudes, behaviours and identity, from socially-situated narratives. It seeks to reveal how attitudes and behaviours of individuals are manifested in and through narratives within intergroup context.
Findings           :	1.      The contestation between ethnic and national identities reflects two realities throughout the socio-political life of Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia: that they are required and expected to blend with the mainstream (as part of the effect of the assimilation program mandated by the New Order regime in 1966) if they wish to be acknowledged in the wider society and that they naturally have a close connection to their ethnic values. 2.      The contestation is clearly visible in the discourses embedded in three terms used by the participants to label themselves, i.e. Cina, Tionghoa, and Chinese. These words are not translated in the extracts. They are used differently to refer to different situation. 3.      Despite the positive attitudes of Chinese Indonesians, stereotypes attached to the group are still prevalent.
Conclusion       :	Focusing on participants’ behaviours and relevant discourses embedded in the narratives, this discourse study has demonstrated the social psychological state of individuals when seeking to make meaning of, cope with, and overcome social problems, given their identity as a minority group and the unequal power relations between the ethnic minority and the national majority. After revealing how they deal with the majority group, the study ultimately explores how such behaviours relates to the fostering of positive interethnic relations and illuminates how such behaviours construct one’s identity within the given socio-historical context. It has also highlighted how ethnic identity is historically and ideologically contested within national context through time. In line with this, ideological power exercised in different regimes has obviously constructed social structure and ethnic identity, shaped relations between the two groups and in turn determined the ability of the minority group to engage with the majority group. Further research should pay attention at the perspectives of the majority group, focusing on how their attitudes and behaviours towards the minority may also affect the construction of identity and interethnic relations. It has been argued in this study that the environment and the attitudes of the Indonesian majority contribute to the ability of Chinese Indonesians to engage and build social contact with that majority.