Lectio Praecursoria: Routine work: Authorizing representation in East Javanese regional politics

This lectio summarizes a PhD study of the public activities of East Javanese regional councillors. Analysing the communication of these politicians, the thesis focuses on the ways they authorize their status as representatives of their constituency. The study finds that politics in East Java has a wide selection of authorizations, the use of which depends on the party, the political history, the age, and the gender of the politician. For the councillor, the most decisive factor for the choice of authorizations, however, is the political context. Different public institutions of politics are examined: meetings with the constituency during council recess, public hearings on draft bylaws, election campaign events, and regional council plenary sessions. The authorizations used in these contexts vary greatly, for example, concerning their aspect of ritualization, style of oratory, or way of evidence presented. Keywords: Indonesia, East Java, politics, communication, semiotic ideology, democracy, hierarchy