Advancing While Weakening The Village: Village Colonization Development and Modernization

This article examines the paradox of village development and modernization in Indonesia which, instead of strengthening, weakens village sovereignty. Departing from the statement that villages must be "urbanized" to be advanced, this research views the narrative as a reproduction of the logic of modernization and colonialism that places the city as the standard of progress. Using the framework of governmentality (Foucault) and Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough), this study unravels the process of village colonization in three phases: the formation of discourse/knowledge, the formation of values and norms, and the formation of actions/behaviors. Data was obtained through a literature review of books, journals, and policy documents combined with dialectics on village reality. The findings show that the discourse on village development is colored by the technicalization of the problem, where underdevelopment is seen as a technical problem such as low human resources that can be solved through training or technology, while eliminating the political and structural dimensions of inequality. This discourse is institutionalized into a norm that internalizes the values of efficiency, productivity, and entrepreneurship as a measure of progress. The final stage can be seen in development practices that direct villages to become obedient beneficiaries, thereby strengthening the top-down power relationship. This analysis concludes that village development within the framework of governmentality is a power mechanism that works productively and forms knowledge, normalizes values, and regulates behavior that subtly but systematically maintains village subordination. The study offers a critical reading to open up space for development alternatives rooted in local sovereignty and potential.