How to Build a Diverse Nation
Lessons from the Indonesian Experience
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8416367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel Bazzi (University of California San Diego, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 379-416 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-4918 • E-ISSN: 1472-7234 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00074918.2025.2582855 |
| OpenAlex | W4416711393 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 65 |
Building a cohesive nation-state amid deep ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity is a central challenge for many governments. This article examines the process of nation-building, drawing lessons from the remarkable experience of Indonesia over the past century. I discuss conceptual perspectives on nation-building and review Indonesia’s historical nation-building trajectory. I then synthesise insights from four studies exploring distinct policy interventions in Indonesia—population resettlement, administrative unit proliferation, land reform and mass schooling—to understand their effects on social cohesion and national integration. Together, these cases underscore the promise and pitfalls of nation-building efforts in diverse societies, offering guidance for future research and policy-making to support these endeavours in Indonesia and beyond
Diversity (politics) · Indonesian · Qualitative research · Work (physics) · Asian Studies and History · Philippine History and Culture · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
The Economic Effects of Constitutions
Language Repertoires and State Construction in Africa
Schooling and Labor Market Consequences of School Construction in Indonesia
Familiarity Does Not Breed Contempt
Cooperation and Punishment in Public Goods Experiments
Culture and Institutions
Linking Conflict to Inequality and Polarization
The Middle Class Consensus and Economic Development
Inherited Trust and Growth
Ethnic Polarization, Potential Conflict, and Civil Wars
Which Countries Have State Religions?
Cultural diversity and economic growth
Social Cohesion, Institutions, and Growth
Nation Building Through Foreign Intervention
Backlash
On the Measurement of Polarization
The Islamic Leviathan
The Politics of Shari'a Law
Industrialization and Assimilation
Secularism and State Policies toward Religion
Economics and Identity
The Effect of Education on Civic and Political Engagement in Nonconsolidated Democracies
The Economics of Nation-Building
Cross-Border Media and Nationalism
The economic value of cultural diversity
Curriculum and Ideology
Erasing Ethnicity? Propaganda, Nation Building, and Identity in Rwanda
An Economic Theory of Clubs
The Nature of the Firm
Education, Language and Identity
Nation-building Through Compulsory Schooling during the Age of Mass Migration
Can External Threats Foster a European Union Identity? Evidence from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Nation-Building and Education
Strife of the soil? Unsettling transmigrant conflicts in Indonesia
Social and Economic Justice
Nationalism in Indonesia
Nation-Building or Nation-Destroying
Tribe or Nation
Testing Islam's Political Advantage
Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions
Administrative Unit Proliferation
Polarization, Fractionalization and Conflict
New Findings on the Indonesian Killings of 1965-66
Territorial Autonomy in the Shadow of Conflict
Will Indonesia Survive
Language Policy and Human Development
Peasants into Frenchmen
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |