UI Professor: The Term 'Maritime' Tends to be Militaristic

Darilaut – Professor Melani Budianta of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Indonesia (UI) has stated that the term ‘maritime’ tends to be militaristic in character and oriented towards centralised state power.

She made the remarks during the international workshop Doing Critical Island Studies in Southeast Asia, organised by the Centre for Research on Manuscripts, Literature and Oral Traditions (PRMLTL), part of the Archaeology, Language and Literature Research Organisation (Arbastra) at BRIN, in collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities at UI, in Jakarta on Monday (13 July).

Prof. Melani criticised the use of the term ‘maritime’, which she said is mostly understood through a state-centred (militaristic) approach that is centralised and oriented towards power.

As a result, the sea is more often treated as a space that must be controlled rather than as a space of life for communities.

In a discussion titled “Nusantara: Maritime Vision and Archipelagic Realities in Indonesia”, Melani offered the concept of ‘Bahari’ as an alternative way of seeing that places coastal communities as the primary subjects.

According to Melani, the sea should be understood as a commons, managed democratically by local communities.

The two discussion sessions presented complementary perspectives, ranging from critiques of the Nusantara concept to the proposal of a new paradigm in the form of archipelagic thinking.