The Impact of the Iran-Israel Conflict on Government Policies in Developing Countries: A Critical Study of the Role of ASEAN and Indonesian
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31000/nyimak.v10i2.14937Abstract
This study examines the impact of the Iran-Israel conflict on government communication narratives and crisis communication strategies in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Indonesia and ASEAN. The study is qualitative with an exploratory approach and uses secondary data obtained from online media, official government social media accounts, and relevant academic journals. Thematic coding and content categorization were performed using NVivo 12 Plus. These procedures include word frequency analysis, clustering of diplomatic themes and mapping of crisis communication narrative patterns.The results show that Indonesia has developed a unique crisis communication strategy in response to the Iran-Israel conflict, which is different from Indonesia’s response to previous geopolitical conflicts. The content analysis of government social media reveals three prevailing patterns: (1) humanitarian framing that emphasizes the suffering of Palestinian civilians; (2) sovereignty and non-intervention narratives as the foundation of diplomatic communication; and (3) multilateral platforms (ASEAN, the UN and the OIC) as amplification platforms for messages. Indonesia’s humanitarian diplomacy is acknowledged as a soft power strategy to cultivate a regional leadership image and facilitate balanced relationships with Western partners by means of principle-based rhetoric instead of bloc alignment. Conversely, ASEAN’s official statement is usually neutral and procedural because of the divergence of interests among its member states. Indonesia, in contrast, consistently positions itself as a proactive communication actor through humanitarian, multilateral, and bilateral channels, exhibiting a crisis communication pattern that is notably different from other ASEAN nations.
Keywords: Iran-Israel conflict, government crisis communication, humanitarian diplomacy, soft power, ASEAN–Indonesia diplomacy.
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini mengkaji dampak konflik Iran–Israel terhadap narasi komunikasi pemerintah dan strategi komunikasi krisis di Asia Tenggara dengan penekanan khusus pada peran Indonesia dan ASEAN. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif eksploratif dengan memanfaatkan data sekunder yang bersumber dari media daring, akun media sosial resmi pemerintah, serta jurnal akademik yang relevan. Analisis dilakukan menggunakan NVivo 12 Plus untuk melaksanakan proses pengodean tematik dan kategorisasi konten. Prosedur analisis mencakup analisis frekuensi kata, pengelompokan tema-tema diplomatik, serta pemetaan pola narasi komunikasi krisis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia mengembangkan strategi komunikasi krisis yang khas dalam merespons konflik Iran–Israel, yang berbeda dari pola respons Indonesia terhadap konflik geopolitik sebelumnya. Analisis terhadap konten media sosial pemerintah mengidentifikasi tiga pola utama: (1) pembingkaian humaniter yang mene-kankan penderitaan warga sipil Palestina; (2) narasi mengenai kedaulatan dan prinsip non-intervensi sebagai landasan komunikasi diplomatik; serta (3) pemanfaatan platform multilateral, seperti ASEAN, PBB, dan OKI, sebagai sarana untuk memperkuat dan memperluas pesan diplomatik. Diplomasi humaniter Indonesia dipandang sebagai strategi soft power yang bertujuan membangun citra kepemimpinan regional sekaligus mempertahankan hubungan yang seimbang dengan mitra-mitra Barat melalui penggunaan retorika berbasis prinsip, bukan melalui keberpihakan pada blok tertentu. Sebaliknya, komunikasi resmi ASEAN cenderung bersifat netral dan prosedural sebagai konsekuensi dari adanya perbedaan kepentingan di antara negara-negara anggotanya. Indonesia, berbeda dengan pola tersebut, secara konsisten memosisikan dirinya sebagai aktor komunikasi yang aktif melalui saluran humaniter, multilateral, dan bilateral. Hal ini menunjukkan adanya pola komunikasi krisis yang secara signifikan berbeda dari pola komunikasi negara-negara ASEAN lainnya.
Kata Kunci: Konflik Iran-Israel, komunikasi krisis pemerintah, diplomasi kemanusiaan, kekuatan lunak (soft power), diplomasi ASEAN-Indonesia.
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