A meta-analysis of hate speech in Indonesia: The yielding of an academic discourse to the discourse of authority

Abstract

This article focuses on academic publication on hate speech within Indonesia’s scholarly context. The authors analyse the ongoing discourse on hate speech by conducting a meta-analysis method on Garuda, an official website designed for repository of scholarly publications in Indonesia. By examined 143 scientific articles, this study found that most studies refer to the definition of hate speech from the Circular No. SE/06/X2015 on hate speech issued by the Indonesian National Police which shows how most Indonesian academics were comfortable in using limited perspectives on hate speech. Furthermore, the variety of the studies on hate speech comes from law or legal studies and communication or da'wah communication. Most Indonesia academics also conducted studies on hate speech with a juridical normative approach, as well as qualitative research. Intriguingly, some studies have been done with unclear method and approaches. Academics ideally should serve as one of the critics for people in power and government apparatus, for example by continuing to question how hate speech is studied, including in the context of its definition and how it affects the implementation in Indonesia. Hence, the authors urged Indonesian academics to do more studies on hate speech from various backgrounds with more rigorous and various research methods to be able to expand the knowledge on hate speech cases in Indonesia.