LOCAL ELITE CONFIGURATION ON A SMALL ISLAND IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Purpose: This article discusses the elite configuration of ethnic groups from a small island in North Maluku, Indonesia. This research aims to explore why Makian elites tend to be fragmented in politics, even though they are a tribe that has the same genealogy and comes from a small island in North Maluku.   Theoretical Framework: Makian is an ethnic group living on Makian Island; some migrated to various islands in North Maluku. Even though the Makian ethnic group is not the dominant population in North Maluku, the number of elites in the political and bureaucratic sectors in the region is dominant. However, in the political context, the positions of Governor of North Maluku and Mayor of Ternate in the last decade have consistently failed because the political elite tends to be fragmented. Elite theory is the leading theory to explain ethnic group fragmentation.   Method: This research uses a descriptive-qualitative method by observing various documents and in-depth interviews with informants.   Results: The findings show that the Makian elite has diverse identity backgrounds, such as geographical, professional, and cultural backgrounds. This article argues that the diversity of elite backgrounds, such as geographic, language, and village differences, is related to political fragmentation at the local level.   Conclusions: Even though the Makian elite group is an ethnic group in North Maluku, they have different characteristics or backgrounds, such as differences in geographical aspects covering the East and West regions, differences in language Tabayama and language Titinee', cultural differences between villages in the same geographical area, and differences in professional backgrounds. With various characteristics, the Makian elite tends to fragment in the election of the Governor of North Maluku and the Mayor of Ternate based on geographical aspects between those from East and West.