![International Area Studies Review](/images/basic/pubreader_back.gif)
Indonesia Should Recognise Israel? The Jokowi’s Last Dance to Host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Abstract
While Indonesia’s bid to host the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup ultimately fell through, it is crucial to scrutinise President Jokowi’s final attempts to persuade the Indonesian public. Jokowi’s stance on Israel’s involvement in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup has sparked speculation about Indonesia’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Through an examination of President Jokowi’s discourse, this research seeks to uncover the underlying political narratives, diplomatic strategies, and symbolic expressions that shape Indonesia’s response to this issue. Using discourse analysis, this article posits that President Jokowi utilises diverse linguistic and rhetorical devices to construct his response, navigating the delicate equilibrium between securing global recognition through hosting the event and reiterating Indonesia’s firm support for Palestinian independence. This study found that Jokowi’s political symbolism is ineffective in gaining international and domestic support. This research contributes to the broader discourse on sports politicization especially on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Keywords:
Indonesia, Jokowi, Palestine, Israel, FIFA U-20 World CupAcknowledgment
This research could not be realized without the generous support whether material or immaterial from Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta especially through the “Internal Research Grant FY 2023/2024.”
AI Acknowledgment
Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies were not used in any way to prepare, write, or complete essential authoring tasks in this manuscript.
Conflict of Interests
We declare that we have no conflicts of interest in this research.
Funding
The author(s) declare that there is no funding.
References
- Afifa, L. (2023, March 28). Jokowi on Israel’s Participation in U-20 World Cup polemic: Don’t mix sports and politics. Tempo. https://en.tempo.co/read/1708192/jokowi-on-israels-participation-in-u-20-world-cup-polemic-dont-mix-sports-and-politics
-
Agné, H., Bartelson, J., Erman, E., Lindemann, T., Herborth, B., Kessler, O., Chwaszcza, C., Fabry, M., & Krasner, S. D. (2013). Symposium ‘The politics of international recognition.’ International Theory, 5(1), 94–107.
[https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971913000018]
-
Alam, M. K. (2021). A systematic qualitative case study: questions, data collection, NVivo analysis and saturation. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 16(1), 1–31.
[https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-09-2019-1825]
- Alkaff, S. H. O. (2021). Ties with Israel: Indonesia not like Morocco (RSIS Commentaries, No. 006). Nanyang Technological University.
-
Allsop, D. B., Chelladurai, J. M., Kimball, E. R., Marks, L. D., & Hendricks, J. J. (2022). Qualitative methods with NVivo software: A practical guide for analyzing qualitative data. Psych, 4(2), 142–159.
[https://doi.org/10.3390/psych4020013]
- Anya, A. (2018, January 31). Video of Jokowi’s visit to Afghanistan goes viral. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/01/31/video-of-jokowis-visit-to-afghanistan-goes-viral.html
-
Arif, M. (2021). Balancing with Jokowi’s characteristics: A neoclassical realism approach to Indonesia’s foreign and security policies in the South China sea. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 8(3), 370-390.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/23477970211041455]
-
Arif, M. (2022). Indonesia’s pandemic foreign policy: Between pragmatism and Jokowi’s legacy. Melbourne Asia Review, 9.
[https://doi.org/10.37839/MAR2652-550X9.21]
-
Asfar, M., Wicaksana, I. G. W., & Asfar, A. S. (2024). Why populist rule sustains during times of crisis: COVID-19, democracy and the state in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911241230443]
- Barton, G., & Rubenstein, C. (2005). Indonesia and Israel: A relationship in waiting. Jewish Political Studies Review, 17(1/2), 157–170. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25834625
- BBC Indonesia. (2023, March 30). Indonesia cancels hosting the U-20 World Cup, netizens’ anger is directed at Ganjar Pranowo and I Wayan Koster. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/articles/cv2nnjplmk7o
-
Bjola, C., & Manor, I. (2018). Revisiting Putnam’s two-level game theory in the digital age: Domestic digital diplomacy and the Iran nuclear deal. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 31(1), 3–32.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2018.1476836]
-
Bland, B. (2020). Man of contradictions: Joko Widodo and the struggle to remake Indonesia. Lowy Institute.
[https://doi.org/10.1355/CS42-3h]
-
Boussaguet, L., & Faucher, F. (2020). Beyond a “gesture”: The treatment of the symbolic in public policy analysis. French Politics, 18(1), 189–205.
[https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-020-00107-9]
-
Broda, P. (2022). FIFA as referee of the match Israel-Palestine from 1920 to 2020: An institutional approach. Sport in History, 42(1), 76–95.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/17460263.2020.1829690]
-
Daase, C., Fehl, C., Geis, A., & Kolliarakis, G. (2015). Recognition in international relations: rethinking a political concept in a global context. Palgrave Macmillan.
[https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137464729]
-
Dalkin, S., Forster, N., Hodgson, P., Lhussier, M., & Carr, S. M. (2021). Using computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS; NVivo) to assist in the complex process of realist theory generation, refinement and testing. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 24(1), 123–134.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2020.1803528]
-
Dart, J. (2017). Showing Israel the red card. Activists engaged in pro-Palestinian sport-related campaigns. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 9(3), 521–539.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2017.1292303]
-
Dittmer, L. (1977). Political culture and political symbolism: Toward a theoretical synthesis. World Politics, 29(4), 552–583.
[https://doi.org/10.2307/2010039]
- Dollosa, F. L. V. (2022). Duterte and Widodo’s China approach: Crafting personalitic foreign policy. China Foreign Affairs University.
-
Dubinsky, Y. (2021). From start-up nation to sports-tech nation? A SWOT analysis of Israel’s use of sports for nation branding. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 21(1–2), 49–75.
[https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2021.114168]
- Duerden, J. (2023, March 30). How Bali governor’s Israel protest ended Indonesia’s U20 World Cup dream. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/30/indonesia-mens-u20-world-cup-bali-israel-fifa
-
Fabry, M. (2010). Recognizing states: International society and the establishment of new states since 1776. Oxford University Press.
[https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199564446.001.0001]
-
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. Routledge.
[https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203697078]
-
Faucher, F., & Boussaguet, L. (2018). The politics of symbols: Reflections on the french government’s framing of the 2015 terrorist attacks. Parliamentary Affairs, 71(1), 169–195.
[https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx013]
- Febriansyah, R. F. (2023, March 30). 10 reaksi kekecewaan pemain timnas U-20 atas dicoretnya Indonesia sebagai tuan rumah Piala Dunia U-20 2023 [10 disappointed reactions from U-20 national team players over Indonesia’s dropout as host of the 2023 U-20 World Cup]. Tempo. https://bola.tempo.co/read/1708849/10-reaksi-kekecewaan-pemain-timnas-u-20-atas-dicoretnya-indonesia-sebagai-tuan-rumah-piala-dunia-u-20-2023
-
Gill, G., & Angosto-Ferrandez, L. F. (2018). Introduction: Symbolism and politics. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 19(4), 429–433.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2018.1539436]
- Hafil, M. (2022, December 15). Efek KTT G20, survei: Kepuasan publik terhadap Jokowi capai 78,5 persen [Effects of the G20 summit, survey: Public satisfaction with Jokowi reaches 78.5 percent]. Republika. https://news.republika.co.id/berita/rmxho7430/efek-ktt-g20-survei-kepuasan-publik-terhadap-jokowi-capai-785-persen
-
Hareuveny, O., & Blanga, Y. U. (2023). The 1974 Asian Games in Tehran: Israel’s final countdown. Israel Affairs, 29(3), 529–556.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/13537121.2023.2206214]
- Hariani, A. (2023, April 9). Kerugian ekonomi akibat batalnya Piala Dunia U-20 [Economic losses due to the cancelation of the U-20 World Cup]. Pajak. https://www.pajak.com/ekonomi/kerugian-ekonomi-akibat-batalnya-piala-dunia-u-20, /
-
Hatta, M. (1953). Indonesia’s foreign policy. Foreign Affairs, 31(3), 441–452.
[https://doi.org/10.2307/20030977]
-
He, K. (2021). The balance of infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific: BRI, institutional balancing, and Quad’s policy choices. Global Policy, 12(4), 545–552.
[https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12970]
-
Herlijanto, J. (2022). Indonesian elite perception of China during the presidency of Joko (Jokowi) Widodo. In T. Tudoroiu & A. Kuteleva (Eds.), China in the Global south: Impact and perceptions (pp. 167–190). Springer.
[https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1344-0_9]
-
Honneth, A. (2014). Recognition between states: On the moral substrate of international relations. In T. Lindemann & E. Ringmar (Eds.), The international politics of recognition (pp. 25–38). Routledge.
[https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315633916]
-
Hübner, S. (2012). The Fourth Asian Games (Jakarta 1962) in a transnational perspective: Japanese and Indian reactions to Indonesia’s political instrumentalisation of the Games. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 29(9), 1295–1310.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2012.677035]
-
Hudalah, D., Talitha, T., & Lestari, S. F. (2022). Pragmatic state rescaling: The dynamics and diversity of state space in Indonesian megaproject planning and governance. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 40(2), 481–501.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544211030935]
- Irham, M. (2023, March 31). Piala Dunia U-20 batal di Indonesia: Siapa yang diuntungkan secara politik dari keputusan ini? [U-20 World Cup canceled in Indonesia: Who benefits politically from this decision?]. BBC Indonesia. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-65124143
- Kahfi, K. (2018, June 12). NU cleric visits Israel to “support” Palestine. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/06/12/nu-cleric-visits-israel-to-support-palestine.html
- Kumparan. (2023, March 28). Prime ministers, politicians and Israeli athletes turn out to have come to Indonesia. https://kumparan.com/kumparannews/perdana-menteri-politikus-hingga-atlet-israel-ternyata-pernah-datang-ke-ri-206Nwf66MZw
- Lai, Y. (2023, March 25). Ganjar calls for ban on Israeli soccer team from FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2023/03/25/ganjar-calls-for-ban-on-israeli-soccer-team-from-fifa-u-20-world-cup.html
-
Laksmana, E. A. (2017). Pragmatic equidistance: How Indonesia manages its great power relations. In D. B. H. Denoon (Ed.), China, the United States, and the future of Southeast Asia (pp. 113–135). New York University Press.
[https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9781479866304.003.0004]
- Luthfiani, D. (2023, March 30). Pernyataan lengkap pendemo tolak timnas Israel setelah Piala Dunia U-20 batal dihelat di Indonesia [Complete statement by protesters rejecting the Israeli national team after the U-20 World Cup was canceled in Indonesia]. Tempo. https://metro.tempo.co/read/1709130/pernyataan-lengkap-pendemo-tolak-timnas-israel-setelah-piala-dunia-u-20-batal-dihelat-di-indonesia?page_num=2
-
Maksum, A., & Sahide, A. (2019). The Chinese migrant worker in Indonesia: The local and migrant workers context. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 7(3), 511–532. https://journal.scadindependent.org/index.php/jipeuradeun/article/view/348
[https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v7i3.348]
-
Méndez, A. (2017). Colombian agency and the making of US foreign policy: Intervention by invitation. Routledge.
[https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315620039]
- Muhtadi, B. (2007). The conspiracy of Jews: The quest for anti-semitism in Media Dakwah. Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, 5(2), 53–76.
- Muttaqien, M. (2013). Domestic politics and Indonesia’s foreign policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Global & Strategis, 7(1), 57–72.
- Nazaruddin, M., Kamil, A. I., & Aulia, F. (2023). Symbols and discursive contestation of presidential election in Indonesia. Malikussaleh Social and Political Reviews, 4(1), 25–32.
-
Newman, E., & Visoka, G. (2023). The geopolitics of state recognition in a transitional international order. Geopolitics, 28(1), 364–391.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2021.1912018]
- Nugroho, Y. (2023, April 27). Commentary: Lessons from the cancellation of Indonesia’s under-20 FIFA World Cup hosting rights. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/indonesia-fifa-u20-world-cup-host-cancelled-israel-lessons-3445321
- Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation. (2023). Press statement of president of the Republic of Indonesia on the hosting of FIFA U-20 World Cup, at the Merdeka Palace, DKI Jakarta Province, March 27, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwhbHa4WLmk, /
-
Permoser, J. M. (2012). Civic integration as symbolic politics: Insights from Austria. European Journal of Migration and Law, 14(2), 173–198.
[https://doi.org/10.1163/157181612X642367]
-
Pfeifer, H., Geis, A., & Clément, M. (2022). The politics of recognition, armed non-state actors, and conflict transformation (PRIF Report 4/2022). Peace Research Institute Frankfurt.
[https://doi.org/10.48809/prifrep2204]
-
Prawira, I., Irawan, R. E., & Karen. (2021). Objektivitas tiga media siber Indonesia: Studi konten berita konflik Israel-Palestina [The objectivity of three Indonesian cyber media: Study of news content in the Israel-Palestine conflict]. Jurnal Wacana Politik, 6(2), 95–107.
[https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v6i2.35073]
- Purba, K. (2022, August 24). Diplomatic ties with Israel unimaginable for Indonesian Muslims. The Jakarta Post. https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2022/08/24/diplomatic-ties-with-israel-unimaginable-for-indonesian-muslims.html
-
Putnam, R. D. (1988). Diplomacy and domestic politics: The logic of two-level games. International Organization, 42(3), 427–460.
[https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300027697]
- Putri, R. S. (2023, April 1). Ini efek ngeri RI batal tuan rumah Piala Dunia U-20 FIFA [This is the terrible effect of RI canceling hosting the FIFA U-20 World Cup]. CNBC Indonesia. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/lifestyle/20230401131629-33-426415/ini-efek-ngeri-ri-batal-tuan-rumah-piala-dunia-u-20-fifa
-
Rakhmani, I., & Saraswati, M. S. (2021). Authoritarian populism in indonesia: The role of the political campaign industry in engineering consent and coercion. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 40(3), 436–460.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034211027885]
- Regan, H., & Jamaluddin, M. (2023, March 30). FIFA strips Indonesia of U-20 World Cup after calls for Israel ban. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/30/football/fifa-removes-indonesia-hosts-u20-world-cup-intl-hnk-spt/index.html
-
Reiche, D. (2018). Not allowed to win. Middle East Journal, 72(1), 28–47.
[https://doi.org/10.3751/72.1.12]
-
Reus-Smit, C. (2001). Human rights and the social construction of sovereignty. Review of International Studies, 27(4), 519–538.
[https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210501005198]
- Rismawan, A. (2023, March 30). Stefano Lilipaly ke Ganjar Pranowo dan I Wayan Koster : Tambah lucu! [Stefano Lilipaly to Ganjar Pranowo and I Wayan Koster: Even funnier!]. VIVA. https://bandung.viva.co.id/bola/17984-stefano-lilipaly-ke-ganjar-pranowo-dan-i-wayan-koster-tambah-lucu
-
Roll, K. (2015). Surpassing the sovereign state: The wealth, self-rule, and security advantages of partially independent territories. By David A. Rezvani. International Affairs, 91(3), 634–635.
[https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12294]
-
Rosyidin, M. (2017). Foreign policy in changing global politics: Indonesia’s foreign policy and the quest for major power status in the Asian Century. South East Asia Research, 25(2), 175–191.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/0967828X17706570]
-
Rosyidin, M. (2023). Playing identities, preserving interests: Balance of identity and Indonesia’s foreign policy dilemma amid the China-US rivalry. Asian Perspective, 47(2), 267–290.
[https://doi.org/10.1353/apr.2023.0014]
-
Rothman, R. (1981). Political symbolism. In S. L. Long (Ed.), The handbook of political behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 285–340). Springer.
[https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9191-7_5]
- Sekretariat Presiden. (2023, March 28). President Joko Widodo’s statement regarding the u-20 World Cup, Merdeka Palace, 28 March 2023 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwhbHa4WLmk
- Strangio, S. (2021, January 14). Why Indonesia won’t recognize Israel — At least for now. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/why-indonesia-wont-recognize-israel-at-least-for-now, /
-
Suseno, B. A., & Utami, P. P. (2022). Jokowi’s sneakers politics: Personal branding, politics of imaging and millenial votes the 2019 presidential election. Politika: Jurnal Ilmu Politik, 13(2), 321–336. https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/politika/article/view/44795
[https://doi.org/10.14710/politika.13.2.2022.321-336]
-
Syari’ah, A., Nabilah, N., & Wijayanti, R. (2022). Kekejaman Israel terhadap rakyat Palestina: Telaah Berita-berita CNN Indonesia tahun 2019–2021 [Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people: Analysis of CNN Indonesia news 2019-2021]. Dinamika Sosial: Jurnal Pendidikan Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial, 1(1), 58–80.
[https://doi.org/10.18860/dsjpips.v1i1.1039]
- Terfa, A., Sambe, S., Tondo, & Wilfred, A. (2014). Political symbolism and mass mobilisation for political participation in nigeria. American International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 6(1), 44–49.
- The Straits Times. (2018, August 1). Jokowi and Anies should resolve their differences: The Jakarta Post. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/jokowi-and-anies-should-resolve-their-differences-the-jakarta-post
-
Theiler, T. (2017). Political symbolism. In F. M. Moghaddam (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of political behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 633–634). SAGE Publications, Inc.
[https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483391144.n284]
-
Umar, A. R. M. (2023). The rise of the Asian middle powers: Indonesia’s conceptions of international order. International Affairs, 99(4), 1459–1476.
[https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad167]
-
van Dijk, T. A. (2005). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, & H. E. Hamilton (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 349–371). Blackwell.
[https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470753460.ch19]
-
van Dijk, T. A. (2006). Ideology and discourse analysis. Journal of Political Ideologies, 11(2), 115–140.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/13569310600687908]
-
Visoka, G. (2021). Statehood and recognition in world politics: Towards a critical research agenda. Cooperation and Conflict, 57(2), 133–151.
[https://doi.org/10.1177/00108367211007876]
-
Waikar, P. (2018). Reading Islamophobia in hegemonic neoliberalism through a discourse analysis of Donald Trump’s narratives. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 38(2), 153–178.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2018.1466490]
- Wardah, F. (2016, March 30). Kunjungan sejumlah wartawan Indonesia ke Israel picu kontroversi [The visit of a number of Indonesian journalists to Israel triggers controversy]. VOA Indonesia. https://www.voaindonesia.com/a/kunjungan-wartawan-indonesia-ke-israel-picu-kontroversi-/3260793.html
-
Wardhani, B., & Dugis, V. (2023). Indonesian foreign policy under the Jokowi administration: Variations on traditional ideas. Issues & Studies, 59(3), 2350005.
[https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251123500054]
-
Wicaksana, I. G. W. (2022). Why does populism not make populist foreign policy? Indonesia under Jokowi. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 76(6), 634–652.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2022.2071834]
-
Wicaksana, I. G. W., & Wardhana, A. (2021). Populism and foreign policy: The Indonesian case. Asian Politics & Policy, 13(3), 408–425.
[https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12594]
-
Wolf, R. (2011). Respect and disrespect in international politics: the significance of status recognition. International Theory, 3(1), 105–142.
[https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971910000308]
-
Yan, K. (2023). Navigating between China and Japan: Indonesia and economic hedging. The Pacific Review, 36(4), 755–783.
[https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2021.2010795]
- Zaman, A. N. (2020). Joko Widodo government’s involvement in peace efforts in Afghanistan. INDEPENDEN: Jurnal Politik Indonesia Dan Global, 1(2), 95–106.