The Role of Intermediaries in the Dissemination of Political Messages within the Tambak Lorok Fishing Community during the 2024 Presidential Election

Nugraheni Arumsari, Pawito, Andre Noevi Rahmanto, Didik Gunawan Soeharto

Universitas Sebelas Maret (Indonesia), Universitas Negeri Semarang (Indonesia)

Political participation in marginalized communities is often assumed to be low or purely transactional, a 'politics of the stomach'. This article challenges this assumption by examining the empirical anomaly of Tambak Lorok, an Indonesian coastal fishing community that exhibited 81% voter turnout in the 2024 election despite profound socio-economic precarity. Using a qualitative case study design, this research draws on in-depth interviews (N=11) with political brokers, community members, and local leaders, supplemented by ethnographic observation. The findings reveal that high participation was not spontaneous but was mobilized by a hybrid 'ecosystem' of activist, clientelist, and opportunist brokers. These actors synthesized long-term relational maintenance (e.g., trust-building, community presence) with short-term, compliance-gaining strategies. This study argues that brokers’ effectiveness lies in their role as 'cognitive and normative translators,' reframing material rewards (like Bansos) and political choices into the binding, local language of moral obligation (balas budi) and subtle social coercion. The resulting participation is a form of 'constrained agency' rather than autonomous choice. This research contributes to brokerage theory by shifting the focus from purely transactional functions to the crucial work of translational and communicative mobilization.

Article link: https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/JSParchives/the-role-of-intermediaries-in-the-dissemination-of-political-messages-within-the-tambak-lorok-fishing-community-during-the-2024-presidential-election