Contesting Legitimacy: Rethinking the Role of Islamic Political Economy in Shaping Indonesia’s Halal Industry

Abstract

This study critically examines the dynamics of legitimacy in the development of the Indonesian halal industry through an Islamic political economy approach. This article presents a multidimensional analysis of the intersection between political power and Islamic values by integrating Neo-Institutional Sociology Theory (emphasizing the role of norms and institutional legitimacy) with the classical views of Ibn Khaldun (governance, justice, wealth, and sharia law). The findings indicate a shift in halal sector governance from fulfilling sharia-based economic justice to political interests and power consolidation that have created inequality between sub-sectors influenced by selective regulation, political intervention, and instrumentalization of Islamic norms. Three conceptual frameworks are offered: (1) Islamic Political Economy in the Halal Industry; (2) The Urgency of Re-Islamizing Halal Governance; and (3) State Politics in the Formation of Islamic Economic Institutions. All three are synthesized in the Islamic Political Economy Model as a critical analytical tool to evaluate the dynamics of power and institutional legitimacy in the halal economy.

Abstract:

Studi ini mengkaji secara kritis dinamika legitimasi dalam pengembangan industri halal Indonesia melalui pendekatan ekonomi politik Islam. Artikel ini menyajikan analisis multidimensional atas persinggungan antara kekuatan politik dan nilai-nilai Islam dengan mengintegrasikan Teori Sosiologi Neo-Institusional (menekankan peran norma dan legitimasi kelembagaan) dengan pandangan klasik Ibn Khaldun (tata kelola, keadilan, kekayaan, serta hukum syariah). Temuan utama menunjukkan adanya pergeseran tata kelola sektor halal dari pemenuhan keadilan ekonomi berbasis prinsip syariah menuju kepentingan politik dan konsolidasi kekuasaan yang menimbulkan ketimpangan antar subsektor yang dipengaruhi oleh regulasi selektif, intervensi politik, dan instrumentalisasi norma Islam. Tiga kerangka konseptual ditawarkan: (1) Ekonomi Politik Islam dalam Industri Halal; (2) Urgensi Re-Islamisasi Tata Kelola Halal; dan (3) Politik Kenegaraan dalam Pembentukan Institusi Ekonomi Islam. Ketiganya disintesiskan dalam Model Ekonomi Politik Islam sebagai alat analisis kritis untuk mengevaluasi dinamika kekuasaan dan legitimasi kelembagaan dalam ekonomi halal.