Political Change And Territoriality In Indonesia

What makes large, multi-ethnic states hang together? At a time when ethnic and religious conflict has gained global prominence, the territorial organization of states is a critical area of study. Exploring how multi-ethnic and geographically dispersed states grapple with questions of territorial administration and change, this book argues that territorial change is a result of ongoing negotiations between states and societies where mutual and overlapping interests can often emerge. It focuses on the changing dynamics of central-local relations in Indonesia. Since the fall of Suharto’s New Order government, new provinces have been sprouting up throughout the Indonesian archipelago. After decades of stability, this sudden change in Indonesia’s territorial structure is puzzling. The author analyses this "provincial proliferation", which is driven by multilevel alliances across different territorial administrative levels, or territorial coalitions. He demonstrates that national level institutional changes including decentralization and democratization explain the timing of the phenomenon. Variations also occur based on historical, cultural, and political contexts at the regional level. The concept of territorial coalitions challenges the dichotomy between centre and periphery that is common in other studies of central-local relations. This book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of comparative politics, political geography, history and Asian and Southeast Asian politics.

This book focuses on Indonesia and investigates why competition between various identity-affiliated groups to claim a new province increases conflict severity. It includes a quantitative study, along with complementary case studies of provinces in Indonesia, which provide evidence that group fragmentation plays a role in determining conflict during a new province’s struggle. Against the background of the Indonesian government’s territorial autonomy (TA) strategy, regional proliferation, or pemekaran, the author examines the long-term decentralization project in Indonesia, which has an ethnically and religiously divided population. The book provides answers to the questions of how the new province claim increases conflict in the supporting districts and how competition among diverse elites in districts pursuing a new province precipitate conflict within the region. Based on extensive field research, the four case studies of districts with varying degrees of conflict reveal that the campaign for a new province proliferation increases the probability of conflict at the district level and conflict can escalate during the initiation of a new province stage. The author argues that more provinces may be necessary to ensure the fair distribution of wealth that would enable the whole population to enjoy a similar quality of life and that the Indonesian government needs to wisely and strategically uphold its unity if a federal arrangement is not an option. Offering a novel contribution to the study of the relationship between territorial change and conflict in Indonesia, this book will be of interest to academics studying Indonesian politics, Southeast Asian politics, as well as identity and ethnic politics.

The Politics of the Periphery in Indonesia is a thought-provoking examination of local politics and the dynamics of power at Indonesia's geographic and social margins. After the fall of Suharto in 1998 and the introduction of a policy of decentralization in 2001, local stakeholders secured and consolidated decision-making power, and set about negotiating new relations with Jakarta. The volume deals with power struggles and local-national tensions, looking among other things at resource control, the historical roots of regional identity politics, and issues relating to Chinese-Indonesians. The authors develop information in ways that transcend the post-colonial territorial boundaries of Indonesia in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago, and use case studies to show how the changes described have galvanized Indonesian politics at the cultural and geographical peripheries.

What makes large, multi-ethnic states hang together? At a time when ethnic and religious conflict has gained global prominence, the territorial organization of states is a critical area of study. Exploring how multi-ethnic and geographically dispersed states grapple with questions of territorial administration and change, this book argues that territorial change is a result of ongoing negotiations between states and societies where mutual and overlapping interests can often emerge. It focuses on the changing dynamics of central-local relations in Indonesia. Since the fall of Suharto’s New Order government, new provinces have been sprouting up throughout the Indonesian archipelago. After decades of stability, this sudden change in Indonesia’s territorial structure is puzzling. The author analyses this "provincial proliferation", which is driven by multilevel alliances across different territorial administrative levels, or territorial coalitions. He demonstrates that national level institutional changes including decentralization and democratization explain the timing of the phenomenon. Variations also occur based on historical, cultural, and political contexts at the regional level. The concept of territorial coalitions challenges the dichotomy between centre and periphery that is common in other studies of central-local relations. This book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of comparative politics, political geography, history and Asian and Southeast Asian politics.

After twenty-five years in power, President Suharto and his New Order government confront a crisis of renewal. The regime, which swept to power in the wake of a military putsch in 1965, has brought enduring stability and economic prosperity to the country, but has shown no inclination to pass the reins of power to the next generation. As a result, pressures for political change are building up. This book offers an informed and balanced analysis of Suharto's new order as it approaches a crucial political juncture. Indonesia's remarkable political stability has for the most part kept the country out of the headlines. Quietly, Indonesia has moved into a strong position just behind other fast-growing economies in the region. Employing widely applauded liberal economic reforms and granting more freedom to the private sector, the government has transformed Indonesia's commodity-dependent economy into a nascent regional industrial dynamo. But now, economic success is running up against domestic political uncertainties. The author reassesses the New Order's fiery origins and its military roots, and evaluates the considerable economic progress achieved under Suharto. He also analyses Suharto himself, a man whose low international profile and uncharismatic style have made him one of the least understood and most intriguing long-serving leaders.

This book raises the issue of the practice of patrimonial power with a focus on habitations, particularly in the urban areas of Indonesia. An assemblage of interdisciplinary studies within the framework of environmental humanities, covering the arts, architecture, urban studies, geography, cultural anthropology, and sociology, this multifaceted framework divulges the interactive connectivity between Indonesia’s patrimonial culture and the socio-culturally constructed system of habitation. The interdisciplinary study of the pertinent practices of patrimonial power that have been represented and been manifested by various political and traditional regimes in terms of the built environment and habitation in Indonesia contributes to a new understanding of Indonesian urban spatial development, from the pre-colonial era to the present. The book poses that in order to understand the politics of Indonesia, one must understand the culture and tradition of the political leadership of the country. The author presents such an understanding in exploring and unpacking the relationship between people and place that constructs, develops, sustains, and conserves Indonesian culture and traditions of habitation. This book is of interest to graduate scholars and researchers in Asian Studies in numerous disciplines, including urban studies, urban planning and design, political science, architecture, anthropology of space, public administration, and political philosophy.