The Bugis Diaspora and Maritime Diplomacy: Indonesia’s Nation Branding Strategy in Malaysia

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_36How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Bugis; Malaysia; Maritime; Diaspora; Branding; Strategy

Abstract

This article explores the strategic role of the Bugis diaspora in advancing Indonesia’s public diplomacy, maritim diplomacy, and nation branding efforts in Malaysia. The Bugis Diaspora play their role as influential non-state actors that contribute to shaping national images through transnational social, cultural, and economic activities. Using a qualitative approach and drawing on the theoretical frameworks of soft power and nation branding, this study investigates how the Bugis community in Malaysia maintains its cultural heritage while projecting positive image of Indonesia. The analysis reveals that the Bugis diaspora actively promotes traditional practices, such as cultural festivals, community gatherings, and economic collaborations, which help strengthen interpersonal ties and enhance Indonesia’s cultural visibility among Malaysian society. These grassroots initiatives indirectly support Indonesia’s branding by showcasing values of maritime expertise, adaptability, and cultural resilience of Bugis traditions. Nonetheless, the study also identifies challenges, particularly the limited synchronization between community initiatives and Indonesia’s formal public diplomacy agenda, which restricts the optimal utilization of diaspora potential. Overall, this research provides deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between diaspora agency, public diplomacy, and nation branding, highlighting the importance of collaborative strategies to maximize the contribution of diaspora communities.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Muhammad Khaerul Amri
AU  - Darwis
AU  - Adi Suryadi Culla
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - The Bugis Diaspora and Maritime Diplomacy: Indonesia’s Nation Branding Strategy in Malaysia
BT  - Proceedings of the World Conference on Governance and Social Sciences 2025 (WCGSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 535
EP  - 544
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_36
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_36
ID  - Amri2026
ER  -