Past Communal Conflict and Contemporary Security Debates in Indonesia

Bibliographic Data

ID3986341
AuthorsRachael Diprose (0000-0001-9325-3805, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author), Muhammad Najib Azca (Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Gadjah Mada, Jl. Sosio Yustisia, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta, Indonesia)
Year2019
Pages1-26
Publication date2019-07-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2019.1619186
OpenAlexW2964102840
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited32

This article explores the links between communal violence in Poso,\nCentral Sulawesi, at the onset of democratisation in Indonesia and\ncontemporary politico-security dynamics. Poso regained national\nattention in recent years when East Indonesia Mujahidin jihadis set\nup a base in the region and declared allegiance to ISIS and joint\npolice-military operations ensued. The article argues that scale and\n“performance” of the security operations - to weed out a small\ngroup of poorly resourced armed men - connects local-nationalglobal\ndynamics and keeps the threat of terrorism and insecurity\nat the forefront of public discussion in Indonesia. This has served\nthe interests of those advocating for a greater role for the\nIndonesian military in domestic affairs through revisions to the\nAnti-Terrorism Law and for better resourcing for the military. Yet,\nthe evidence suggests there has been little local support for the\nideology of the East Indonesia Mujahidin and the risk of widespread\nengagement or violence is low, especially given that the\nlocal discontent which initially drove the conflict has dissipated.\nSuch developments raise questions as to whether Indonesia risks a\nreturn to the illiberal past when the military dominated many\naspects of civic and political life and in some cases acted with\nimpunity

Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Impunity · Indonesian · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Asian Studies and History · Islamic Studies and Radicalism · Law