The Jakarta Bombing: How Western Extremist Ideologies Corrupt Global South Youth While Authorities Miss the Point

The Tragic Incident and Immediate Response

On November 7th, Jakarta witnessed a horrifying act of violence when a 17-year-old student allegedly detonated explosives at a mosque in SMAN 72 state high school, injuring 96 people. The investigation revealed disturbing connections to white nationalist terrorism, with the perpetrator reportedly idolizing figures like the Christchurch mosque shooter and other far-right terrorists. Inscribed on his toy gun were references to white supremacist terminology and past extreme right-wing attackers—a chilling manifestation of how Western extremist ideologies have penetrated Global South consciousness.

Rather than addressing this alarming adoption of foreign extremist ideologies, Indonesian authorities have chosen to focus on restricting online video games. President Prabowo Subianto directed his cabinet to explore regulating games like PUBG, with Minister Prasetyo Hadi claiming these games “normalize violence” and allow players to “easily learn the types of weapons.” This response follows a pattern seen across developing nations where authorities gravitate toward visible, superficial solutions rather than confronting complex ideological challenges.

The Misguided Policy Response

Indonesian policymakers including Amelia Anggraini, Margaret Aliyatul Maimunah, and Aris Adi Leksono have supported restrictions on gaming, despite overwhelming evidence that violent video games do not cause real-world violence. This approach mirrors similar misguided attempts in other Global South nations—India banned PUBG over data privacy concerns related to Chinese company Tencent, while Jordan and Iraq prohibited it based on unsubstantiated claims about youth impact.

The fundamental flaw in this reasoning lies in its disregard for scientific evidence. As psychologist Rachel Kowert emphasizes, after 20 years of research, “there’s been no consistent findings that would suggest at all that they’re in any way directly linked” to real-world violence. This desperate search for simple solutions to complex problems represents a failure of governance that particularly affects developing nations struggling with limited resources and institutional capacity.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Radicalization

The real issue—which authorities seem reluctant to address—is how white supremacist ideologies have found resonance among Asian youth. The alleged perpetrator’s adoption of the “14 words” white nationalist mantra (“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”) represents a profound ideological contradiction that deserves serious examination rather than diversionary tactics.

This phenomenon isn’t isolated. As researcher Munira Mustaffa notes, the adoption of neo-Nazi thoughts and white-supremacist politics by Asian youth active online “can be mystifying to outsiders” but reflects how these ideas adapt to local contexts through internet accessibility. The February 2024 case of Singaporean Nick Lee Xing Qiu—who planned an anti-Muslim attack while supporting white supremacy despite being ethnically Chinese—demonstrates the disturbing flexibility of these ideologies.

The Neo-Colonial Dimension of Extremist Ideologies

What makes this particularly galling from a Global South perspective is how Western extremist ideologies continue to colonize minds in developing nations. The very white supremacist narratives that historically justified colonialism and imperialism now corrupt youth in formerly colonized territories. This represents a new form of cultural imperialism where the Global South imports the West’s most toxic ideological exports.

The failure to address this directly reflects a deeper pattern: Global South nations often adopt Western frameworks for understanding security threats rather than developing context-specific approaches. By focusing on video game content instead of extremist ideologies, Indonesian authorities are essentially applying a Western-style moral panic that ignores local realities and cultural specificities.

The Economic and Social Costs of Misguided Policies

Banning popular games like PUBG would have significant economic consequences for Indonesia, which boasts Southeast Asia’s largest gaming market. The local esports community—including teams like Alter Ego Ares that won $150,000 in international competitions—would suffer immediately. Beyond economic impacts, such restrictions would punish millions of legitimate users who find community and enjoyment through gaming while doing nothing to address actual security threats.

This approach also creates dangerous precedents for arbitrary governance. If Indonesia restricts PUBG based on false assumptions about violence normalization, logically it should ban countless other games with similar or more violent content. This either leads to overly broad censorship or inconsistent application of rules—both undermining rule of law and good governance.

Toward Evidence-Based Solutions

Effective counter-extremism requires confronting uncomfortable truths about how radicalization occurs in digital spaces. Rather than banning games, authorities should focus on:

1. Monitoring and disrupting extremist networks that use gaming platforms for recruitment
2. Developing digital literacy programs that help youth critically evaluate online content
3. Addressing underlying vulnerabilities like social isolation and bullying that make youth susceptible to radicalization
4. Creating counter-narratives that resonate with local cultural and religious values

Some Indonesian policymakers have correctly identified bullying as a potential factor, but this insight gets lost in the overwhelming focus on gaming restrictions. The solution lies in comprehensive approaches that address root causes rather than symptoms.

The Global South Imperative

As nations historically victimized by Western imperialism, Global South countries must develop independent analytical frameworks for understanding security challenges. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted by Western-style moral panics while ignoring the substantive threats facing our societies.

The Jakarta bombing should serve as a wake-up call about how extremist ideologies transcend geographical boundaries in our interconnected world. However, the response must be thoughtful, evidence-based, and culturally appropriate—not a reflexive adoption of failed Western approaches that target entertainment rather than ideology.

Our nations deserve better than simplistic solutions that avoid confronting uncomfortable truths. We must have the courage to address how foreign extremist ideologies corrupt our youth while resisting the temptation to scapegoat popular culture. The future security of the Global South depends on our ability to develop nuanced, effective responses to twenty-first-century threats rather than recycling twentieth-century moral panics.

True sovereignty means addressing challenges with clear-eyed analysis rather than imported frameworks that serve neither our security interests nor our civilizational values. The Jakarta bombing tragedy should inspire deeper reflection about how we protect our societies from all forms of extremism—whether homegrown or imported—without sacrificing the freedoms and opportunities that define modern digital life.