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Between strategy and genuine effort: Child symbolism and welfare for legitimacy in Indonesia’s presidential campaigns

Raharja, Randy LU (2025) WPMM41 20251
School of Social Work
Abstract
Far beyond its innocence, children and child welfare initiatives have emerged as powerful symbols in Indonesian political campaigns. This research focuses on Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, showing how their use of initiatives like Smart Card and Free Lunch Program projected legitimacy and garnered votes during the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections. It uses two main methods: reflexive thematic analysis to identify symbolic themes in speeches and debates, and critical discourse analysis to look at how these themes connect with larger social and political ideas. It identifies four symbolic framings of children: as recipients of welfare, as human capital, as ideological symbols, and as moral/emotional appeals. Moreover, child welfare is shown... (More)
Far beyond its innocence, children and child welfare initiatives have emerged as powerful symbols in Indonesian political campaigns. This research focuses on Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, showing how their use of initiatives like Smart Card and Free Lunch Program projected legitimacy and garnered votes during the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections. It uses two main methods: reflexive thematic analysis to identify symbolic themes in speeches and debates, and critical discourse analysis to look at how these themes connect with larger social and political ideas. It identifies four symbolic framings of children: as recipients of welfare, as human capital, as ideological symbols, and as moral/emotional appeals. Moreover, child welfare is shown to resonate through technocratic and emotional appeals embedded in developmentalist, nationalist, and populist narratives. Representations of “the child” thus function as political symbols used by both leaders to mask deeper structural inequalities, assert moral authority, and justify their conduct in pursuit of votes. Further, child welfare serves as a symbolic tool for political legitimacy just as much as it is for actual welfare. It calls for a critical rethinking of symbolic politics in emerging democracies and concludes with implications for welfare studies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Raharja, Randy LU
supervisor
organization
course
WPMM41 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
child welfare, symbolism, legitimacy, welfare discourse, Indonesia
language
English
id
9194460
date added to LUP
2025-06-09 15:22:23
date last changed
2025-06-09 15:22:23
@misc{9194460,
  abstract     = {{Far beyond its innocence, children and child welfare initiatives have emerged as powerful symbols in Indonesian political campaigns. This research focuses on Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, showing how their use of initiatives like Smart Card and Free Lunch Program projected legitimacy and garnered votes during the 2014, 2019, and 2024 elections. It uses two main methods: reflexive thematic analysis to identify symbolic themes in speeches and debates, and critical discourse analysis to look at how these themes connect with larger social and political ideas. It identifies four symbolic framings of children: as recipients of welfare, as human capital, as ideological symbols, and as moral/emotional appeals. Moreover, child welfare is shown to resonate through technocratic and emotional appeals embedded in developmentalist, nationalist, and populist narratives. Representations of “the child” thus function as political symbols used by both leaders to mask deeper structural inequalities, assert moral authority, and justify their conduct in pursuit of votes. Further, child welfare serves as a symbolic tool for political legitimacy just as much as it is for actual welfare. It calls for a critical rethinking of symbolic politics in emerging democracies and concludes with implications for welfare studies.}},
  author       = {{Raharja, Randy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Between strategy and genuine effort: Child symbolism and welfare for legitimacy in Indonesia’s presidential campaigns}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}