When are identity-based groups harmful to democracy? Victimized majority narratives and Muslim groups in Indonesia

When are identity-based groups harmful to democracy? We argue that identity-based groups become harmful to democracy when they engage in and promote victimized majority narratives—portraying the majority as being removed from power and sidelined by minority groups. We support this argument through a mixed-method approach and by analyzing Muslim groups in Indonesia. Through interviews with leaders of moderate and hardliner Muslim groups, we show that the narratives are more prevalent in the latter than the former type of groups, even though the groups may hold similar views on other issues such as the question of heterodoxy and blasphemy. We then test this argument at the individual level using original panel data of identifiers of Muslim groups, showing that identifying with hardliner groups—but not the moderate groups—correlates with higher support for political Islam, higher religious intolerance, and higher support for religious violence.