Journal article
Islandness, Sub-State Agency, and the Resilience of Sasak MSMEs in the Mandalika Economic Zone
Journal of marine and island cultures, Vol.15(2), 05
2026
Abstract
This article examines how the Sasak people of Lombok, Indonesia, navigate identity, cultural preservation, and economic survival amid an externally imposed Mandalika Economic Zone development project. Drawing on original fieldwork comprising ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with MSME actors including weavers, homestay operators, local traders, youth leaders, and a civil society representative, this article argues that islandness can be understood not merely as geographic insularity but as a condition of cultural boundedness and adaptive subjectivity. Such boundedness, as this article argues, constitutes a distinct form of resilience for Sasak communities. Rather than passivity in the face of large-scale commodification, Sasak MSMEs exhibit a form of sub-state agency: asserting cultural identity, negotiating market access, and contesting developmental narratives without formal political authority. Utilising Baldacchino’s theorisation of islandness as resource, Grydehøj’s framework of island identity politics, and some International Relations ideas on constructivist concepts of identity and norm contestation, this paper argues that the Sasak case shows how island communities mobilise cultural boundedness as a strategic asset in the global tourism economy.
Details
- Title
- Islandness, Sub-State Agency, and the Resilience of Sasak MSMEs in the Mandalika Economic Zone
- Authors/Creators
- Ario Bimo Utomo - University of Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jawa TimurDian Yulie Reindrawati - Airlangga UniversityBaiq Wardhani - Airlangga UniversityIan Wilson - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Journal of marine and island cultures, Vol.15(2), 05
- Publisher
- Institution for Marine and Island Cultures, Mokpo National University.
- Identifiers
- 991005917939807891
- Copyright
- © 2026 Institution for Marine and Island Cultures, Mokpo National University.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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