Religion, Identity Politics, and Democracy in the Digital Era: A Constructivist Analysis of Indonesia's Buzzer Culture

Abstract

The digital era in Indonesia is marked by a significant shift in the political and social landscape, where social media plays a central role in democratic discourse. This article analyzes the complex interaction between religion, identity politics, and democracy in contemporary Indonesia within the digital context, employing a constructivist framework from International Relations theory. Social media has both empowered citizen participation and become a fertile ground for polarization and the instrumentalization of religion-based identity politics. The phenomenon of organized political “buzzers” represents a systematic manipulation of public discourse through the social construction of political realities, identities, and norms. Analysis reveals that buzzer culture operates by creating false intersubjectivity, manipulating identity formation, and normalizing toxic political practices. The polarization of religious issues on digital platforms contributes to horizontal social conflict and threatens social harmony. In response, this study proposes a paradigm shift from content-based to process-based regulation, focusing on dismantling coordinated inauthentic behavior rather than merely removing individual content. This research highlights the urgency of building digital democratic resilience through multi-stakeholder collaboration, platform accountability, and critical digital literacy that enables citizens to recognize and resist social construction processes employed by manipulative actors.