POLITICAL NETWORK IN BUILDING POLITICAL DYNASTY
Titin Purwaningsih

Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta

Abstract

One of the interesting things in the 2020 Regional Head Elections is the nomination of the president^s son and son-in-law as candidates for regional heads, and both were elected as mayors. This issue is interesting amid the pros and cons and the will of the people to minimize dynastic politics in elections and has been the media^s focus. This research focuses on the pro-contra analysis of dynastic political issues, actor networks, and support networks in the 2020 Regional Head Election of Medan City with candidate Bobby Nasution, the president^s son-in-law. The units of analysis are five national and five local online mass media. Using NVivo analysis, the results revealed no narrative of rejection of dynastic politics in society. The rejection of dynastic politics came from political observers and politicians who were political rivals. The aspects of the president^s popularity and family have been the issues dominating the media. In addition, Bobby^s candidacy received full support from political parties and the public. The findings of this study strengthen the argument that candidates from dynastic politics inherit the political network of previous politicians or their political families, thus supporting their victory in the elections.

Keywords: Political Dynasty, Regional Head Election, Political Network, Popularity, Mass Media

Topic: Politics