MOTOGP MANDALIKA 2025 AS INDONESIA’S SOFT POWER STRATEGY TO UPHOLD ITS SAFETY IMAGE AMID POLITICAL UNREST

Abstract

In late August 2025, Indonesia was rocked by nationwide political demonstrations (triggered by the death of a delivery driver at the hands of police), which turned violent and resulted in multiple casualties, injuries, and arson attacks on government and commercial buildings apnews.comaljazeera.com. These events have raised international concerns about the country’s safety image. This paper employs a qualitative descriptive approach, analyzing secondary sources (news media, government releases, and academic literature) to examine how hosting the 2025 MotoGP at the Mandalika Circuit can serve as a nation-branding strategy to counteract negative perceptions. Drawing on nation branding theory, destination image concepts, event leveraging, and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), we find that MotoGP Mandalika 2025 is being actively promoted by Indonesian authorities as a showcase of the nation’s resilience and safety standards mataram.antaranews.comen.antaranews.com. We compare scenarios in which the event is cancelled versus successfully executed, arguing that cancellation (absent a genuine health crisis) would signal weakness and harm the country’s image, whereas proceeding signals confidence and crisis management capability. As a “brand shield,” the event is leveraged to reinforce a narrative of Indonesia as a stable, safe international sports host