Conflict dynamics in Eastern Indonesia

The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) was founded in 2013 on the principle that accurate analysis is a critical first step toward preventing violent conflict. Our mission is to explain the dynamics of conflict-why it started, how it changed, what drives it, who benefits-and get that information quickly to people who can use it to bring about positive change. In areas wracked by violence, accurate analysis of conflict is essential not only to peaceful settlement but also to formulating effective policies on everything from good governance to poverty alleviation.

RIMA: Review of Indonesian and Malaysian …, 2009

This article looks into the correlations between ethnic geography and conflicts between the Dayak and Madurese in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The first section of the article gives a brief theoretical background, and then an overview of the arguments commonly used to explain the conflict between the two ethnic groups. It discusses arguments which link the conflicts to primordial issues such as ethnic stereotyping and the history of group antagonism, as well as others which use an instrumental approach, for example writings which connect the conflicts with the issue of marginalisation. The article then proceeds to analyse how the spread and concentration of an ethnic group in certain locations may have contributed to ethnic conflicts. This argument is not new since experts have argued about a positive correlation in this regard, but no previous studies have cogently argued the West Kalimantan case. Taking into consideration the role of the history of the conflicts between the two ethnic groups and their strained relations, this article argues that ethnic geography has contributed significantly to the conflicts in two areas. In support argument, the article maps the population of both ethnic groups in strategic areas, an approach which has not been used previously.

Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 2014

In the lowland areas of Sumatra, conflicts over land and natural resources are increasing as fundamental land use transformation processes take place and the region is gradually integrated into globalized markets. Set against the background of the conflict arena of Bungku village, Jambi province, this paper describes and analyzes the struggle for land between a group of indigenous people, the Batin Sembilan, and an oil palm company, PT Asiatic Persada. By highlighting the path dependency of land conflicts, the article shows that access to land results from concurring but ambivalent institutional regimes and power asymmetries, leading to an ostensible state of equilibrium in a post-frontier area.

Journal of Contemporary Asia, 2019

In production for publication in 2019.

In this article, we seek an explanation for the recent conflicts in North Maluku in local cultural and historical realities while we emphasize the conflicts between the Indonesian state and the alternative state proposed by the Sultan of Ternate. We address the similarities and differences between the Indonesian state and the sultanate as an alternative or 'cultural state'. By showing the various cultural techniques or symbols that are used to create vertical height and spatial reach and the dynamic interplay between center and periphery, we elucidate processes of alternative state formation alongside and within the nation.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2017

Indonesia from a comparative perspective. It explores why Ambon and Poso were seen as religious while Sambas was seen as ethnic despite the fact that in all three conflicts different religions and ethnicities fought each other. Examining the 'ethnic' elements, this article advances three arguments: First, that the Poso and Ambon conflicts were no less ethnic than the Sambas conflict as they had similar 'ethnic causes'. Second, that the religious narrative dominated in Ambon and Poso because it reflected the Islamic resurgence in Indonesia since the 1990s while the narrative in Sambas reflected that it was the latest round of a pre-existing anti-Madurese conflict which had already been 'defined' as 'ethnic'. Third, that the narratives were framed strategically, thus influencing the trajectory of the conflict but also responding to it.

Indonesia has undergone a major political transformation over the past decade from authoritarianism to democracy with significant power being delegated to the provincial and local levels. One of the consequences has been the development of rivalries between local elites over the rewards of this decentralization, which can potentially lead to violence. From a conflict management perspective, this article examines one of these localized conflicts that emerged from political machinations on the eastern Indonesian island of Lombok in a village just outside the capital city, Mataram, and the strategies utilized to restore calm. Specifically considered will be the actions of state officials and community leaders, as well as the adat (customary) practices employed and the pivotal role of local Muslim religious leaders, Tuan Guru.

2018

Between 1997 and 2002, at least 10,000 people have been killed and over a million displaced as a result of seven violent conflicts in Indonesia. 1 These violent clashes have been predominantly characterized as ethnic violence with complex and interrelated causes (Davidson and Kammen 2002; Davidson 2003; Bertrand 2004). Resource dynamics, regime change, political struggles, religion, and outside influences all seem to have played a role in these conflicts, although it remains difficult to assess the relative weight of 1 Clashes occurred in Aceh, Jakarta (anti-Chinese riots), West and Central Kalimantan (between Dayak and Madurese), Sulawesi (Christians and Muslims in Poso), Maluku (again between Christians and Muslims), East Timor, and Irian Jaya.