Balinisasi dan politik representasi kolonial: konstruksi Bali sebagai “museum hidup” dalam kebijakan budaya Hindia Belanda

Abstract

Dutch colonial interest in Bali intensified only in the nineteenth century following military campaigns that culminated in the Puputan Badung (1906) and Puputan Klungkung (1908) wars. While previous studies have largely examined these events from political and military perspectives, the role of Baliseering as a colonial strategy of cultural governance remains underexplored. This study investigates how the Baliseering policy functioned to construct representations of Balinese culture as a means of consolidating colonial rule. Employing a critical historical method based on library research, the study analyzes secondary sources through Michel Foucault’s theory of power relations and Stuart Hall’s theory of cultural representation. The findings demonstrate that Baliseering transformed Bali into a “living museum,” representing the island as an authentic, timeless, and culturally pure space. Rather than serving solely as a policy of cultural preservation, this representation legitimized colonial authority by regulating Balinese society and restricting the spread of modernity and nationalism. This study argues that the enduring global image of Bali as an exotic cultural landscape was not a natural cultural expression but a colonial construction produced through intertwined relations of power and knowledge. These findings contribute to colonial historiography by highlighting cultural representation as a central mechanism of colonial governance.