The paradox of nation branding: A lesson learned from the Mandalika Special Economic Zone Siti Aminah 1 , Baiq Wardhani 1 , Vinsensio Dugis 1 , and Joko Susanto 2 Abstract This article observes the paradox in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Lombok Island, using a case study approach to obtain a picture of nation branding trapped in the monolithic business-based conception of neoliberalism. The government has invested in national branding to strengthen the influence of the state in enhancing reputation, tourism, trade, and investment, des- pite human rights violations and social conflict. Mandalika has been mobilized as a competitive resource to show Indonesia’s uniqueness to the global audience at the expense of the local people. We found inconsistencies between the goals of constructing Mandalika as a global tourist destin- ation, nation branding, and the transformation of national identity with the ongoing disputes with local communities. This research aims to explain how the construction of global tourism as nation branding can cause socio-cultural disharmony in local communities. Furthermore, it also explains the socio-cultural consequences of developing the Mandalika SEZ. This research finds that the Mandalika SEZ reflects the state actors’ ambition to pursue capitalistic goals by ignoring the inter- ests of the local communities. As a result, there are unintended consequences in the form of cul- tural and human rights abuse. In the long term, the conflict can cause residents to lose social, cultural, and religious values. The cultural abuse in Mandalika SEZ can directly impact internal colonialism, as indicated by the luxurious “ghettos” in the area. Keywords global tourism, human rights abuse, Mandalika, nation branding, Special Economic Zones 1 Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia 2 Cambridge University, UK Corresponding author: Siti Aminah, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Airlangga 4-6, Surabaya, Jawa Timur, 60286, Indonesia. Email: siti.aminah@fisip.unair.ac.id Research article Asian Journal of Comparative Politics 1–15 © The Author(s) 2025 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/20578911251366112 journals.sagepub.com/home/acp