BROKERAGE, ETHNICITY, AND THE LEGACY OF TRANSMIGRATION IN LAMPUNG TIMUR REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS: A SCOPING REVIEW OF THE INDONESIAN LITERATURE

Background: Indonesia's transition to direct regional head elections (Pilkada) since 2005 reopened local political contestation to ethnic and religious mobilisation. Lampung province presents a distinctive case because its demographic composition was reshaped by a century of state-sponsored transmigration, yet no review has systematically mapped how the literature connects ethnic identity politics, social network/brokerage mechanisms, and the legacy of transmigration policy within a single analytical frame at the district (kabupaten) level. Objective: This scoping review maps and synthesises the Indonesian and international literature (2010–2026) addressing three interlocking constructs – ethnic identity politics, political brokerage/social networks, and transmigration policy – as they bear on regional head elections in Indonesia, with particular attention to Lampung. Methods: Following the Arksey and O’Malley scoping review framework and adapted PRISMA-ScR reporting guidance, the review question was structured using the SPIDER framework (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type). Systematic searches were conducted across academic search engines, including a dedicated update search of Semantic Scholar, CrossRef, and Google Scholar, totalling 23 search/retrieval actions and 135 raw records. After deduplication (n = 56 unique records) and eligibility screening against inclusion criteria (2010–2026 or foundational status, Indonesian/English language, SINTA/Scopus-indexed journals or academic books, thematic relevance), 20 sources were included. Data were extracted into a structured matrix and appraised using an adapted Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist for qualitative designs, supplemented by a relevance-and-currency assessment for non-qualitative sources. Results: Included sources cluster into three thematic strands: (1) ethnic outbidding and constructivist critiques of ethnic identity in Indonesian elections; (2) clientelism, brokerage, and social network mechanisms underpinning vote mobilisation; and (3) the demographic and political legacy of transmigration, particularly in Lampung, where ethnicity and religion converge through what recent scholarship terms “ethnicity and religion based organizations” (ERBOs). Eight of nine qualitative-design sources received a “high” CASP-adapted quality rating, indicating a methodologically robust evidentiary base. Conclusion: While each thematic strand is individually well developed, no identified study integrates ethnic identity, brokerage networks, and transmigration legacy within a single district-level, two-cycle comparative design. This gap substantiates the need for original qualitative-comparative research of the kind undertaken on Lampung Timur's 2020 and 2024 Pilkada.