THE REALITY OF IDENTITY POLITICS IN THE PLURALISM DIMENSION OF WEST PASAMAN SOCIET

This research examines the issue of identity politics in West Pasaman, West Sumatra. The West Pasaman community is a plural society consisting of various ethnicities, religions and cultures. So far they have been able to coexist with the spirit of pluralism and tolerance. The existence of regional autonomy which contains regulations regarding the election of regional heads has given rise to identity politics in the plural society of West Pasaman. Beside that, identity politics could also be seen in regional autonomy policies which target adherents of certain religions. The prominence of ethnic, cultural and religious identities is a serious problem in a pluralistic society. This is because it could lead to truth claims and the assumption that groups with the same identity are better than other groups. Therefore, this study aims to explore the pluralism of West Pasaman society and the identity politics contained therein. This research is a qualitative research with data collection methods in the form of observation, in-depth interviews, FGD and literature study. The data that has been collected is then analyzed using the theory of pluralism and identity politics. The results of this research showed that there are religious, ethnic and cultural identity politics in the plural society of West Pasaman. This identity politics is generally carried out in the context of electing regional heads and DRPD members for the benefit of winning certain groups.