Singaraja, Vice Chancellor II Ganesha University of Education, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Lasmawan, M.Pd believes that Higher Education with all its components is one part of the great struggle to realize the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Whether through campus politics or other intellectual and learned movements in supporting the Indonesian national movement. The existence of campuses as higher education institutions cannot be underestimated in creating concepts thoughts and other creative ideas to protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Lasmawan conveyed this opinion when giving material in a national webinar held by the Department of Law and Citizenship, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Ganesha Education University, Thursday 1 October 2020. The webinar also featured another resource person, Professor of Criminal Law from UGM, Prof. Eddy O.J Hiariej. The webinar discussed the theme issue “Higher Education in the Vortex of Democratic Pragmatism: Measuring the Role of Academics to Strengthen the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia”

According to this man from Kintamani, nowadays campus intellectuals are asked to take part in transforming national ideas and carrying out restoration in strengthening the unity of the Republic of Indonesia and its democratic life.

As a higher education institution that is the foundation for the education of the nation’s generation in maintaining democracy, campuses cannot avoid political intervention.

The concept of campus politics is a university activity that always intersects with the responsibility of maintaining democracy academically. The presence of campus politics can always provide a middle way to solving the nation’s problems.

So that the campus does not completely side with the government and does not act as an opposition forever. The focal point of campus politics is not seen from the trend of studies discussed in universities, but rather from what campuses can do to influence decision-makers, both at the regional and central government levels.

“It is true that the campus political process cannot be seen with the naked eye, because the campus political process moves sporadically, temporally, and practically. It is called sporadic because the presence of the campus continues to have an impact on the stability of the country’s democratic subject. And it is called temporal and pragmatic because at certain times the campus community can convey aspirations when there is a national political tragedy that is seen as incompatible with the intellectual findings of the campus.” explained Lasmawan.

Lasmawan continued, as a large and multicultural archipelagic country, Indonesia is one of the countries in the world that implements democracy in its national and state life. However, this year it seems that Indonesian democracy is facing many challenges and problems.

“Starting from the COVID-19 pandemic to other aspects of life. The existence of democracy was at stake when the pandemic hit,” he said.

Lasmawan stressed that the focus of public attention on the pandemic should not weaken the function of democracy, one of which is through public control of state policy.

Apart from this, the most crucial problems of Indonesian democracy, said Lasmawan, are the absence of civil society who are critical of power, poor political party cadre formation, the disappearance of the opposition, high-cost elections due to massive money politics in elections, as well as fake news, aka hoaxes. |NP|