Beyond the State: Pesantren Networks as Shadow Diplomatic Infrastructure in Indonesia-Malaysia Relations
Keywords:
pesantren networks, shadow diplomacy, Indonesia-Malaysia relations, Islamic transnationalismAbstract
This paper examines the role of pesantren networks as informal diplomatic channels between Indonesia and Malaysia, conceptualizing them as "shadow diplomatic infrastructure" that operates parallel to official state mechanisms. Drawing on institutional analysis and empirical evidence, this study demonstrates how transnational Islamic educational networks have facilitated continuous cross-border engagement, particularly during periods of bilateral tension. The research reveals that pesantren networks, anchored in shared religious traditions and genealogical ties among ulama, constitute a resilient form of Track II diplomacy that predates modern nation-states. Through examination of key pesantren institutions and their regional linkages, this paper argues that these networks provide alternative pathways for bilateral engagement that complement, and occasionally substitute for, formal diplomatic channels. The findings contribute to broader debates on non-state actors in international relations and challenge state-centric frameworks for understanding Southeast Asian regionalism.
References
Ahmad, S., & Hassan, R. (2018). Alumni networks and Islamic education: Cross-border influences in Indonesia-Malaysia relations. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 49(3), 445-468.
ASEAN Institute for Strategic Studies. (2018). Track II diplomacy in Southeast Asia: Comparative analysis of mechanisms and effectiveness. Jakarta: ASEAN Secretariat.
ASEAN Studies Center. (2019). Non-state diplomatic actors in ASEAN: Survey findings and analysis. Singapore: ASEAN Studies Center.
Avant, D. D., Finnemore, M., & Sell, S. K. (Eds.). (2010). Who governs the globe? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Azra, A. (2004). The origins of Islamic reformism in Southeast Asia: Networks of Malay-Indonesian and Middle Eastern 'ulama' in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Azra, A. (2006). Indonesia, Islam, and democracy: Dynamics in a global context. Jakarta: Solstice Publishing.
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York: Greenwood Press.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2020). Foreign workers statistics 2019. Putrajaya: Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Dhofier, Z. (2011). The pesantren tradition: The role of the kyai in the maintenance of traditional Islam in Java. Tempe: Arizona State University, Program for Southeast Asian Studies.
Diamond, L., & McDonald, J. W. (1996). Multi-track diplomacy: A systems approach to peace (3rd ed.). West Hartford: Kumarian Press.
Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam. (2020). Statistik pendidikan Islam tahun 2019. Jakarta: Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia.
Fealy, G. (2001). Traditionalist Islam and modernity in Indonesia. In V. Hooker & A. Saikal (Eds.), Islamic perspectives on the new millennium (pp. 129-147). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Fealy, G., & Hooker, V. (Eds.). (2006). Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia: A contemporary sourcebook. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Geertz, C. (1960). The religion of Java. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hefner, R. W. (2009). Islamic schools, social movements, and democracy in Indonesia. In R. W. Hefner (Ed.), Making modern Muslims: The politics of Islamic education in Southeast Asia (pp. 55-105). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
Jackson, P. T., & Nexon, D. H. (1999). Relations before states: Substance, process and the study of world politics. European Journal of International Relations, 5(3), 291-332.
Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. (2019). Sumber pendanaan pesantren di Indonesia: Laporan survei 2019. Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam.
Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. (2020). Data pesantren nasional 2020. Jakarta: Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Islam.
Kementerian Agama Republik Indonesia. (2021). Laporan program kerjasama internasional masa pandemi COVID-19. Jakarta: Sekretariat Jenderal Kementerian Agama.
Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia. (2020). Konsultasi dengan organisasi masyarakat sipil: Laporan 2016-2020. Jakarta: Direktorat Diplomasi Publik.
Laffan, M. F. (2003). Islamic nationhood and colonial Indonesia: The umma below the winds. London: Routledge Curzon.
Laffan, M. F. (2011). The makings of Indonesian Islam: Orientalism and the narration of a Sufi past. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia [LIPI]. (2010). Analisis wacana publik dalam sengketa warisan budaya Indonesia-Malaysia 2009. Jakarta: Pusat Penelitian Politik LIPI.
Liow, J. C. (2005). The politics of Indonesia-Malaysia relations: One kin, two nations. London: RoutledgeCurzon.
Lukens-Bull, R. A. (2005). A peaceful jihad: Negotiating identity and modernity in Muslim Java. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Majelis Ulama Indonesia [MUI]. (2020). Koordinasi fatwa penanganan pandemi COVID-19 dengan institusi Islam Malaysia. Jakarta: MUI Pusat.
Milner, A. C. (2008). The Malays. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Noor, F. A. (2007). Mediating the mediated: The role of Islamic education in democratising the Muslim world. In N. Lahoud & A. H. Johns (Eds.), Islam in world politics (pp. 163-185). London: Routledge.
Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama [PBNU] Lajnah Ta'awun. (2019). Laporan kegiatan diplomasi Islam dan hubungan internasional 2018. Jakarta: PBNU.
Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama [PBNU] Lajnah Ta'awun. (2020). Program kerjasama bilateral dengan organisasi Islam Malaysia 2015-2020. Jakarta: PBNU.
Pew Research Center. (2019). Religion's relationship to happiness, civic engagement and health around the world. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Pondok Modern Gontor. (2021). Laporan tahunan dan statistik santri 2020. Ponorogo: Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor.
Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat [PPIM] UIN Jakarta. (2019). Kemitraan pesantren Indonesia dengan institusi pendidikan Islam Malaysia: Survey 2019. Jakarta: PPIM UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.
Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat [PPIM] UIN Jakarta. (2020). Pesantren dan media digital: Pola penggunaan dan jangkauan internasional. Jakarta: PPIM UIN Syarif Hidayatullah.
Reid, A. (1993). Southeast Asia in the age of commerce, 1450-1680: Volume two: Expansion and crisis. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Ricklefs, M. C. (2007). Polarising Javanese society: Islamic and other visions, c. 1830-1930. Singapore: NUS Press.
Ricklefs, M. C. (2012). Islamisation and its opponents in Java: A political, social, cultural and religious history, c. 1930 to the present. Singapore: NUS Press.
Risse-Kappen, T. (Ed.). (1995). Bringing transnational relations back in: Non-state actors, domestic structures and international institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roy, O. (2004). Globalized Islam: The search for a new ummah. New York: Columbia University Press.
Sending, O. J. (2015). The politics of expertise: Competing for authority in global governance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Slaughter, A.-M. (2004). A new world order. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Tan, C. (2011). Islamic education and indoctrination: The case in Indonesia. New York: Routledge.
van Bruinessen, M. (1994). Pesantren and kitab kuning: Maintenance and continuation of a tradition of religious learning. In W. Marschall (Ed.), Texts from the islands: Oral and written traditions of Indonesia and the Malay world (pp. 121-145). Berne: University of Berne.
van Bruinessen, M. (1995). Tarekat and tarekat teachers in Madurese society. In K. van Dijk, H. de Jonge, & E. Touwen-Bouwsma (Eds.), Across Madura Strait: The dynamics of an insular society (pp. 91-117). Leiden: KITLV Press.
Wahid Foundation. (2017). Pengaruh ulama di media sosial: Studi jangkauan lintas negara. Jakarta: Wahid Foundation.
Wendt, A. (1999). Social theory of international politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
