ABSTRACT
The local political dynamics in North Maluku is influenced by the people’s political ideology and culture. In each era in Indonesia, the contestation of aristocratic and non-aristocratic group has shown the political contestation of the federation system versus the unitary system in the local government when the Republic of Indonesia was established, and the contestation on the establishment of North Maluku Province between special status and non-special status in the reformation era. The contestation was influenced by the egalitarian political culture on the political ideology of both aristocratic and non aristocratic political groups. In this article, the aristocrats still take part in both local and national political activities since they are benefited by the egalitarian political ideology in the local political culture and the patron-client relationship. This study has shown that in North Maluku, political ideology still influences political behavior, although Firman Noor (2014, p. 63) states that political ideology has been replaced by pragmatism in Indonesia, because it is influenced by the local political culture and the patron-client relationship.
