Digital memory wars and the resurgence of authoritarian nostalgia in Southeast Asia: A comparative analysis of the Philippines and Indonesia

Date of Publication

2026

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in International Studies Major in European Studies

Subject Categories

International and Area Studies

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

International Studies

Thesis Advisor

Julio C. Tehankee 

Defense Panel Chair

Ron Bridget T. Vilog

Defense Panel Member

Francis Isaac
Malcolm Edrich Lim 

Abstract (English)

This paper analyzes Facebook as a platform for digital memory warfare in two significant Southeast Asian democracies with unresolved authoritarian legacies: the Philippines and Indonesia. It inquires into the discursive construction of authoritarian nostalgia in viral Facebook public posts and what the comparison reveals about democratic fragility in the Asia-Pacific region. The study employs a qualitative comparative case study and Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis to examine 70 viral public Facebook posts and their comment sections, evenly distributed between the Philippines and Indonesia, collected during the ascent and initial consolidation of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Prabowo Subianto. The results indicate that, in both instances, authoritarian nostalgia based on a common set of selective glorifications: order, discipline, prosperity, national unity, and strong leadership are emphasized, whereas repression, corruption, and historical violence are downplayed, displaced, or recontextualized. But the two cases differ in important ways. In the Philippines, nostalgia is more personal and dynastic, focused on the Marcos family and stronger in places where counter-memory is weaker. In Indonesia, nostalgia is more focused on the New Order as a model of stability and growth, but it is also more openly challenged by reformist and counter-memory efforts. The article contends that digital memory wars are pivotal to democratic contestation in Southeast Asia, as platformed historical revisionism not only reinterprets the past but also transforms selective remembrance into political legitimacy for contemporary authoritarian governance.

Abstract Format

html

Abstract (Filipino)

Sinusuri ng papel na ito ang Facebook bilang isang plataporma para sa digital na digmaan sa alaala sa dalawang mahahalagang demokrasya sa Timog-Silangang Asya na may hindi pa nalulutas na mga pamana ng awtoritaryanismo: ang Pilipinas at Indonesia. Sinisiyasat nito kung paano diskursibong binubuo ang nostalhiyang awtoritaryan sa mga viral na pampublikong post sa Facebook at kung ano ang ibinubunyag ng paghahambing tungkol sa kahinaan ng demokrasya sa rehiyong Asia-Pacific. Gumagamit ang pag-aaral ng isang kwalitatibong komparatibong case study at ng kritikal na pagsusuring diskursibo ni Fairclough upang suriin ang 70 viral na pampublikong post sa Facebook at ang kanilang mga seksiyon ng komento, na pantay na hinati sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Indonesia, at nakalap sa panahon ng pag-angat at unang konsolidasyon nina Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Prabowo Subianto. Ipinapakita ng mga resulta na, sa parehong kaso, nakabatay ang nostalhiyang awtoritaryan sa magkakatulad na piling pagluwalhati: binibigyang-diin ang kaayusan, disiplina, kasaganaan, pambansang pagkakaisa, at matatag na pamumuno, samantalang ang panunupil, korupsiyon, at karahasang historikal ay minamaliit, inililihis, o binibigyan ng panibagong konteksto. Gayunman, may mahahalagang pagkakaiba ang dalawang kaso. Sa Pilipinas, mas personal at nakasentro sa dinastiya ang nostalgia, nakatuon sa pamilyang Marcos at mas malakas sa mga lugar kung saan mas mahina ang kontra-alaala. Sa Indonesia naman, mas nakatuon ang nostalgia sa New Order bilang modelo ng katatagan at paglago, ngunit mas lantaran din itong hinahamon ng mga repormista at ng mga pagsisikap ng kontra-alaala. Iginigiit ng artikulo na mahalaga ang mga digital na digmaan sa alaala sa demokratikong tunggalian sa Timog-Silangang Asya, sapagkat ang makaplatapormang rebisyunismong historikal ay hindi lamang muling nagbibigay-kahulugan sa nakaraan kundi ginagawang lehitimasyong pampolitika rin ang piling pag-alala para sa kontemporaryong pamamahalang awtoritaryan.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Social media—Political aspects--Philippines; Social media—Political aspects--Indonesia; Digital media--Southeast Asia; Collective memory--Southeast Asia

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Embargo Period

4-18-2026

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