Boni Hargens Launches Political Science Book, Comments on Saiful Mujani's Statement

Senior political analyst Boni Hargens responded to the statement by SMRC founder Saiful Mujani regarding ‘toppling’ and rallying forces against the Prabowo Subianto government. According to Boni Hargens, the debate over Saiful Mujani’s statement must be grounded in strong thinking about political science as outlined in Boni Hargens’ book.

This was conveyed by Boni Hargens at the launch and book review of his work titled ‘Political Science from the Classical Era to the Digital Age’ at the Aryaduta Hotel, Jakarta, on Saturday, 11 April 2026.

At the launch event, several speakers who reviewed Boni Hargens’ book were present, namely Professor of Political Science Lili Romli, BRIN researcher Syafuan Rozi, and political observer Karyono Wibowo.

“Regarding whether speaker Mr Saiful Mujani’s category is sedition or otherwise, that debate must indeed be grounded in strong thinking about politics,” said Boni Hargens.

He assessed that Saiful Mujani’s statement could be examined from different perspectives, namely the perspective of the state and the perspective of civil society. From the state’s perspective, said Boni Hargens, Saiful Mujani’s statement constitutes a pre-condition towards revolution because there is already an idea and effort to rally forces.

“But from the civil society perspective, it is freedom of speech and also a form of serious disappointment towards political parties that do not present political opposition amid democratic power. In other words, Mr Saiful’s remarks from the civil society perspective constitute a stern warning and slap to political parties to present the role of opposition in democracy,” explained Boni.

Therefore, said Boni Hargens, the state’s viewpoint on Saiful Mujani’s statement is not wrong because it has the potential to disrupt public interests with the pre-condition towards revolution. However, said Boni Hargens, an ideal government must be able to maintain a balance between the state perspective and the civil society perspective.

“An ideal government is about how to maintain balance between these two opposing paradigms. So, making decisions while still safeguarding the civil society perspective and maintaining state interests,” explained Boni.

In the political dynamics in Indonesia, said Boni Hargens, his book has relevance by presenting conceptual foundations, theoretical aspects, and the interconnection of political science with developments in the current digital era.