Securitizing orang cina Indonesia : via the lens of Copenhagen societal security concept.

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze how the Chinese minority were securitized throughout the period of 1945 to 1998 by applying Copenhagen School's Societal Security concept, specifically by analyzing the rhetorical content of the government and other political actors through the Speech Act theory. The limitations of the 'silent' minority vis a vis Lene Hanson's Silent Mermaid will also be discussed. Inevitably, a discourse on what makes an "Indonesian" - and what does not belong to this nationality - is an important part of this paper. What bears to mind is how the perception of the state, elite and the dominant indigenous majority affected the identity and consequently the collective security of this community.