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that happen in the current political system. This public awareness of politics has caused a shift in the political culture in society. The tendency of people to be more selective in choosing independent political leaders is a major concern rather than considering political party as a new phenomenon in the political field in Indonesia. This phenomenon not only proves that politics can run without political parties but also proves that political parties could not carry out one of their main functions: conducting recruitment and regeneration the public accepts, and ready to fight in electoral battles.
2.3. Definition of Political Communication
Political communication is a fundamental function in the political system. In every political process, political communication involves a strategic incumbency in the distribution of power. They express political communication as a vein of the political process. It is important because various political structures such as parliament, presidency, political parties, non-governmental organizations, interest groups, and citizens usually get political information through this political communication. Each structure works based on this information. The difference between political communication and communication is the message and its purpose. The message in terms of political communication is about vision, mission, work programs, policies, and those related to political activities. The purpose in terms of political communication is to win the minds of the people so they can choose and occupy positions in government.
According to Rush and Althoff, the definition of political communication is the delivery of information from one element of the political system and the process of
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socialization, participation, and political recruitment.21 While Perloff defines political communication as the whole process of delivery, change, and search for information (including facts, opinions, beliefs) carried out by participants in the structure of organized political activities.22 In addition, Cangara describes political communication as providing information to the public about the efforts of political systems and their relations with the government and society; socialize policies; programs and political objectives; politicians, bureaucrats, and party supporters.23 They become a platform that can accommodate the community so it becomes a form of public opinion; and increase political activity in the community through news broadcasts, agenda settings, and political discussions. While the purposes of political communication are the delivery of political messages consciously carried out by politicians who act as the sender of the message to the recipient of the message with the specific purposes.24
2.3.1. The Political Strategy
Under the of statements about political communication above, politicians argue it uses different communication forms to interact with the public directly or indirectly, to run political campaigns, to build the good image or repute among the public, to achieve specific political goals and objectives, to shape public opinion in their way and to pursue personal political benefits. That is why the political strategy is an
21 Michael Rush and Philip Althoff, An Introduction to Political Sociology atau Pengantar Sosiologi Politik, terjemahan. Kartini Kartono, (Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, 1990), p.224, http://opac.stainponorogo.ac.id//index.php?p=show_detail&id=7149, (accessed June 25, 2019).
22 Richard M. Perloff, The Dynamics of Political Communication, (New York: Routledge, 2013), p.32, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203115312, (accessed June 30, 2019).
23 Hafied Cangara, Komunikasi politik: konsep, teori, dan strategi, (Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, 2009), p. 228, https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/38434926, (accessed June 22, 2019).
24 Onong Uchjana Effendy, Ilmu komunikasi: teori dan praktek, (Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya, 2006), p.177, http://library.um.ac.id/free-contents/index.php/buku/detail/ilmu-komunikasi-teori-dan-praktek-onong-uchjana-effendy-32610.html, (accessed July 1, 2019).
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contributes significantly based on the planning strategy from the candidates or political party, not only during the election but also after the election. A strategy is the bottom line of planning and achieving a goal, but in achieving that goal, strategy does not function as a road map, only shows direction, but must be able to show how its operational tactics.26 Therefore, the political strategy27 must go hand in hand if we want to pursue political goals in succeeding elections.In local elections, political strategy has a central role in leading the agenda. A candidate, in this case, cannot only rely on popularity but requires a political strategy, especially for candidates who may lack popularity in the views of the public. They will need an effective strategy to socialize their vision and mission in leading the battle between candidates in the regional election.
Over the years, there has been a meaningful development in how election campaigns are systematically organized.28 Politicians are increasingly using new forms29 to communicate efficiently.30 That is the beginning of the concept of political
25 Anwar Arifin, Komunikasi politik: paradigma, teori, aplikasi, strategi komunikasi politik Indonesia, (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 2003), p.222, https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/11961884, (accessed June 29, 2019).
26 Onong Uchjana Effendy, op.cit., p.180
27 Political strategy is about how parties, candidates and governments think and plan in order to achieve their goals.
28 Eric Louw and Ralph Negrine, “The Transformation of Political Communication. Continuities and Changes in media and politics,” International Journal of Public Opinion Research, vol. 21, no. 2, (Summer 2009), p.251, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edp023, (accessed July 1, 2019).
29 Jens Tenscher, Juri Mykkänen, and Tom Moring, “Modes of Professional Campaigning: A Four-Country Comparison in the European Parliamentary Elections,” The International Journal of Press/Politics 17, no. 2 (August 2012), p.168, doi:10.1177/1940161211433839, (accessed July 3, 2019).
30 Dennis W. Johnson, Routledge Handbook of Political Management
1st Edition, (London: Routledge, 2008), p.651, https://epdf.pub/queue/routledge-handbook-of-political-management-routledge-international-handbooks.html, (accessed July 2, 2019).
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achieve the needed political agendas.31The increasing trend of using political strategy by politicians in political campaigns often mentioned as changing socio-political contexts and media coverages.32 According to the Pew Research Center, 44% of the U.S. citizens relied on social media for political awareness about candidates in the 2016 presidential elections.33 They argued that there were almost 10 million followers of Trump on Twitter while Hillary Clinton had almost 7 million.34 On Facebook, Trump had 9 million were about double her number of followers. They also found by the Pew study that political candidates used Facebook for five to seven posts per day and used Twitter for 11 to 12 tweets per day.35