Oki Rahadianto Sutopo, Universitas Gadjah Mada and Fuji Riang Prastowo, Universitas Gadjah Mada
Abstract
Klitih, a term originating from Javanese usage, has come to denote youth street violence involving weapons in Indonesia. This article examines how klitih is produced, amplified, and governed in Yogyakarta, a city that operates as a monarchical enclave within Indonesia’s democratic state system. Drawing on the concept of cultural violence, the article analyses how symbolic authority and ideals of “high culture” shape media narratives, public anxieties, and institutional responses to youth violence. Based on interviews with young people in detention, educators, correctional officers, and community leaders, alongside media and policy analysis, the study shows how youth violence is framed not only as a legal problem but as a form of moral and cultural deviance. This framing legitimizes punitive and exclusionary interventions while displacing attention from structural inequalities. By situating klitih within wider international debates on youth criminalization, moral regulation, and symbolic power, the article demonstrates how cultural narratives operate as mechanisms of stigmatization and social control in contemporary societies.
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