This article, published in Political and Legal Anthropology Review (PoLAR), examines the rise of majoritarian religious rhetoric in parts of Indonesia’s conservative Islamic community.

Based on ethnographic research in Eastern Indonesia, it shows how activists frame Sunni Muslim majority rights around ideas of cultural loss and social disenfranchisement. Instead of being purely based on religion, their populism re-articulates nationalist themes to address perceived moral and social breakdown.

The study contributes to wider debates on populism, arguing that its power lies not in parties or grievances alone, but in reshaping everyday notions of national belonging and the moral boundaries of citizenship.

The full article is publicly available here.