Nationalism And Ethnic Conflict In Indonesia

Since 1998, which marked the end of the thirty-three-year New Order regime under President Suharto, there has been a dramatic increase in ethnic conflict and violence in Indonesia. In his innovative and persuasive account, Jacques Bertrand argues that conflicts in Maluku, Kalimantan, Aceh, Papua, and East Timur were a result of the New Order's narrow and constraining reinterpretation of Indonesia's 'national model'. The author shows how, at the end of the 1990s, this national model came under intense pressure at the prospect of institutional transformation, a reconfiguration of ethnic relations, and an increase in the role of Islam in Indonesia's political institutions. It was within the context of these challenges, that the very definition of the Indonesian nation and what it meant to be Indonesian came under scrutiny. The book sheds light on the roots of religious and ethnic conflict at a turning point in Indonesia's history.

Andreas Wimmer argues that nationalist and ethnic politics have shaped modern societies to a far greater extent than has been acknowledged by social scientists. The modern state governs in the name of a people defined in ethnic and national terms. Democratic participation, equality before the law and protection from arbitrary violence were offered only to the ethnic group in a privileged relationship with the emerging nation-state. Depending on circumstances, the dynamics of exclusion took on different forms. Where nation building was successful , immigrants and ethnic minorities are excluded from full participation; they risk being targets of xenophobia and racism. In weaker states, political closure proceeded along ethnic, rather than national lines and leads to corresponding forms of conflict and violence. In chapters on Mexico, Iraq and Switzerland, Wimmer provides extended case studies that support and contextualise this argument.

This volume addresses a set of problems that have retained global salience after the demise of the Soviet world. They are problems related to the cohesion and integration of nation-states having multiple ethnic groups competing for national identity and scarce resources. In some instances, fragile peace processes occur with uncertain outcomes. What are the factors involved in the dynamics of these changes? Scholars from a broad range of disciplines examine the relevant issues of race, ethnicity, ethnic tensions, and nationalism, in a wide variety of settings from South Africa and Indonesia to the Crimea.

Examines the relationship between the ethnic conflict and economic development in modern Sri Lanka.

Islam and Nation presents a fascinating study of the genesis, growth and decline of nationalism in the Indonesian province of Aceh.

When the Indonesian New Order regime fell in 1998, regional politics with strong ethnic content emerged across the country. In West Kalimantan the predominant feature was particularly that of the Dayaks. This surge, however, was not unprecedented. After centuries of occupying a subordinate place in the political and social hierarchy under the nominal rule of the Malay sultanates, Dayaks became involved in an enthusiastic political emancipation movement from 1945. The Dayaks secured the governorship as well as the majority of the regional executive head positions before they were shunned by the New Order regime. This book examines the development of Dayak politics in West Kalimantan from the colonial times until the first decade of the 21th century. It asks how and why Dayak politics has experienced drastic changes since 1945. It will look at the effect of regime change, the role of the individual leaders and organizations, the experience of marginalization, and conflicts on the course of Dayaks politics. It will also examine ethnic relations and recent political development up to 2010 in the province.

This book analyses how national independence movements’ rhetoric can inflame or dampen ethnic violence. It examines the extent to the power of words matters when a region tries to break away to become a nation state. Using discourse analysis, this book examines how the process of secession affects internal ethnic relations and analyses how politicians interpret events and present arguments with the intention to mobilize their constituencies for independence. With in-depth case studies on the Slovenian, the Croatian and the Montenegrin independence movements, and by looking at cases from Indonesia and Spain, the author investigates how rhetoric affect internal ethnic relations during secession and how events and debate shape each other. The author demonstrates how in some cases of self-determination elites push for a higher level of sovereignty in the name of economic advancement, whereas in other cases, self-determination movements refer to ethnic identity and human rights issues. Explaining how and why certain discourses dominate some independence movements and not others, Secessionist Movements and Ethnic Conflict will be of interest to students and scholars of politics, history, nationalism, ethnic conflict and discourse analysis.

Papuan nationalism is young, evolving, and flexible. It has adapted to and reflected the political circumstances in which it has emerged. Its evolution as a political force is one of the crucial factors in any analysis of political and cultural change in Papua, and the development of relations between the Indonesian government and Papuan society. This study examines the development of Papuan nationalism from the Pacific War through the movement?s revival after the fall of President Suharto in 1998. The author argues that the first step in understanding Papuan nationalism is understanding Papuan history and historical consciousness. The history that so preoccupies Papuan nationalists is the history of the decolonization of the Netherlands Indies, the struggle between Indonesia and the Netherlands over the sovereignty of Papua, and Papua?s subsequent integration into Indonesia. Papuan nationalism is also about ethnicity. Many Papuan nationalists make strong distinctions between Papuans and other peoples, especially Indonesians. However, Papuan society itself is a mosaic of over three hundred small, local, and often isolated ethno-linguistic groups. Yet over the years a pan-Papuan identity has been forged from this mosaic of tribal groups. This study explores the nationalists? argument about history and the sources of their sense of common ethnicity. It also explores the possibility that the Special Autonomy Law of 2001, if implemented fully, might provide a framework in which Papuan national aspirations might be realized.This is the fourteenth publication in Policy Studies, a peer-reviewed East-West Center Washington series that presents scholarly analysis of key contemporary domestic and international political, economic, and strategic issues affecting Asia in a policy relevant manner.