Paper short abstract:

Looking at indigenous media in Indonesia, this paper analyses the impact of indigeneity and new media as international knowledge regimes on national and local policies and mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion.

Paper long abstract:

Indigeneity and new media are here conceptualised as international knowledge regimes that have both become integral parts of national and international development policies. This paper explores the emergence of these regimes and what impact they have on national and local levels. A decade long struggle finally led to the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). As the declaration is not legally binding to the signatory states, indigenous people still rely on nation-states to translate it into national legislations. At the same time, the Internet and new media have spread exponentially and triggered debates about in how far they foster democracy and empowerment or rather epitomize capitalist interests and enforce existing gaps and hierarchies.

Focusing on indigenous media in Indonesia, this paper analyses the impact of new media and the discourse on indigeneity in the country. It looks at whether and how the Indonesian government has accommodated new media developments and has implemented the UNDRIP. Whereas the termination of the authoritarian Suharto regime allowed for the opening up of the media scene and the advancement of human rights, the government has still not passed a law on the rights of indigenous people. This does not prevent the latter to get organised on national and local levels. Media have become strategic tools in the struggle for their rights. This paper looks at the implications the national and local translation of international knowledge regimes has and what mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion it generates.