Could be a coincidence. Ahead of the Pancasila Sanctity Day, October 1, Megawati Soekarnoputri, the 5th President of Indonesia, spoke about Pancasila at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2022, in Jeju, South Korea (15/9/2022).
At the prestigious peace forum, Megawati stated that Pancasila contains universal values, which can be applied not only by Indonesia, but also by other countries in the world. These values include respecting differences and prioritizing the way of peace in resolving conflicts. Pancasila needs to be echoed throughout the world in the hope that it will become the basis for creating peace.
Ahead of the Pancasila Sanctity Day, it is interesting to explore the interrelationships between Pancasila and the Sanctity of Pancasila in the perspective of diplomacy and foreign policy.
Pancasila was included in the treasures of Indonesian diplomacy for the first time when Bung Karno gave a speech at the UN General Assembly, September 30, 1960, with a very evocative title: “To Build the World A New”. The first President of the Republic of Indonesia outlined the five principles of Pancasila as the basis and ideology of the Indonesian state.
The speech was special for two reasons. First, because the president of a newly independent country gave a speech. It just rose from the misery of colonialism, became an independent country that had the right to its own destiny and called for independence for a country that was still oppressed by colonialism.
Second, the atmosphere of world political psychology at that time was haunted by the rivalry of two major ideologies, liberal-capitalism and socialist-communism. The rivalry of two hegemonic ideologies that plunged many countries into the contempt of civil war and division. The rivalry of two hegemonic ideologies that plunged many countries into the contempt of civil war and division.
So it is not surprising that Bung Karno offered Pancasila as a value that reconciles and unites. Pancasila as an ideology of peace is a “third way” that contains unifying values against two opposing ideologies. But how important is ideology in diplomacy and foreign policy?
International relations experts almost agree that ideology can be used as an instrument in fighting for national interests through diplomacy and foreign policy. In layman, ideology is interpreted as a summary of the value system that is believed by a nation in assessing, interpreting, and acting.
Accordingly, in assessing and acting on international dynamics, a nation is guided by its ideological word. Indonesia is no exception. In setting foreign policy, the leaders of course make the values contained in the ideology of the state as a moral guide in choosing diplomatic actions.
Regarding the use of ideology as a foreign policy tool, international relations experts map out the function of ideology in two main landscapes: as a guide for assessing and measuring any international political phenomenon, and as an instrument for carrying out political action against that phenomenon (Sylvan & Majeski, Ideology and Intervention, 2008). ).
In line with this opinion, the role of Pancasila ideology in diplomacy and foreign policy can be traced from two functions. First, as an ideal guide in acting and acting on the dynamics of international politics. Relations between countries are thick with the spirit of nationalism. All countries, of course, prioritize national interests, including Indonesia
Take the example of the third principle, the Indonesian Unity. This precept contains the value of nationalism. How is the actualization of this value of nationalism in Indonesia’s diplomacy? In the discourse of Indonesian nationalism, Bung Karno’s concept of nationalism is known: socio-nationalism (Under the Banner of the Revolution, Volume I, 2015).
Indeed, the embryo of Bung Karno’s nationalism was rooted in anti-colonialism. However, that does not mean Indonesia withdraws from international relations. Nationalism and internationalism are like two sides of a coin: mutually reinforcing, complementary. The relationship between the two was beautifully illustrated by Bung Karno: nationalism cannot thrive if it does not live in the garden of internationalism; and internationalism cannot thrive if it is not rooted in the earth of nationalism.
The magic of Pancasila is tested
In the praxis dimension, this means that Indonesian nationalism is placed within the “social humanity” frame. Thus, he is known by the term “socio-nationalism”: nationalism with a human dimension, a moral obligation as dictated by the third principle of Pancasila.
This socio-humanitarian aura emanated from Jokowi’s diplomacy when he was desperate to visit Ukraine and Russia to open the door to peace. It is the same as when Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi was active in the Covax (Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access) Facility program, a vaccine procurement and allocation program under WHO. This health diplomacy is clearly in line with the second principle of Pancasila: humanity
Second, Pancasila is used as an instrument of diplomacy to help resolve conflicts. After Bung Karno’s speech at the 1960 UN MU Session, Pancasila as an ideology of peace began to be recognized by friendly countries. Even now. Many heads of state praised Indonesia for being able to unite a pluralistic society in ethnicity, ethnicity, and religion in one country.
The unifying spirit contained in Pancasila is admired by many countries around the world. Many countries have experienced divisions due to ethnic, ethnic and religious conflicts, Indonesia with its Pancasila remains intact in a unitary state. This is the magic of Pancasila.
The integrity of Indonesia as a country that is diverse in terms of ethnicity, ethnicity, and religion has been tested by the turmoil of world politics. Indonesia with its Pancasila survived through various tragedies of world history.
Call it, for example, during the Cold War (1947-1989) many countries broke up and broke up, Indonesia remained intact. When the Berlin Wall fell (1991) at the end of the Cold War, many countries in Eastern Europe, the Baltics, the Balkans, and Central Asia experienced disintegration and were destroyed due to ethnic and religious conflicts, Indonesia remained solid as a nation state.
The September 11, 2001 tragedy in New York sparked suspicion between the West and the Islamic world. However, Indonesia has become a role model as a Muslim-majority country that can adopt democracy.
Democracy and Islam actually go hand in hand in Indonesia. When the Arab Spring in 2011 blew the winds of democracy in the Arab Middle East region and ravaged the countries in the region in the midst of civil war, Indonesia remained strong in a unitary state. No doubt, that’s because Indonesia is committed to Pancasila. That is the magic of Pancasila.
The resilience of the Pancasila ideology in the dynamics of world history has become a political capital for Indonesia to use Pancasila as an instrument of diplomacy. With such a reputation, Indonesia has helped resolve conflicts in several countries, such as Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
The resilience of the Pancasila ideology in the dynamics of world history has become a political capital for Indonesia to use Pancasila as an instrument of diplomacy. With such a reputation, Indonesia has helped resolve conflicts in several countries, such as Cambodia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
Pancasila diplomacy is not only limited to efforts to help friendly countries that are experiencing divisions due to conflict, but can also be done as an effort to project the image of the nation and state.
In the midst of a world that is facing conflict, both with territorial and ethnic and religious backgrounds, Pancasila diplomacy needs to be developed. Pancasila as an ideology of peace that is full of unifying values must be projected in Indonesian diplomacy as a manifestation of the moral obligation to participate in maintaining world peace.
(Darmansjah Djumala)
Head of Center for Pancasila Studies
Pancasila University.