Abstract
The post-conflict status conferred to Aceh constitutes a paradox due to the existence of different forms of contestation on the ground that fuel tensions and minor violence because of the existence of absence of a context-specific conflict transformation mechanism in post-war environment. This chapter argues that conflict is ever-present, therefore, inherent, despite the disappearance of insurgency and the demobilization of GAM as a militant organization in Aceh. Using rich and original ethnographic data, this chapter exposes the various pockets of conflict and tensions at the community level in post-war Aceh. The grievances of excluded minority groups are often neglected due to their powerlessness and minor political value from the viewpoint of the ruling elites. This chapter concludes that although the grievances of powerless groups may have legitimacy, they do not have the agency to wage violence and destroy the current state of peace in Aceh. The Government of Indonesia is apparently in control of the politico-security landscape and has indisputable military capacity to curtail potentially emerging rebellion or security threats in Aceh—a situation similar to the period before settlement, but with weaker groups facing repression.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aditjondro, George Junus. 2007. Profiting from Peace: The Political Economy of Aceh’s Post-Helsinki Reconstruction. Working Paper No. 3, Jakarta: International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development.
Amnesty International. 2015. Indonesia—Christian Minority in Aceh Under Threat, 28 October. https://www.amnesty.se/engagera-dig/agera/aktuella-blixtaktioner/ua-24415-indonesia-christian-minority-in-aceh-under-threat/, 5 January 2018.
Amnesty International. 2017. Indonesia: Revoke the Caning Sentence of Gay Men in Aceh, 17 May. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/05/indonesia-revoke-the-caning-sentence-of-gay-men-in-aceh/, 7 January 2018.
Ananta, Aris, and Lee Poh Onn (eds.). 2007. Aceh: A New Dawn. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Ananta, Aris, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, and Leo Suryadinata. 2005. Emerging Democracy in Indonesia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Ananta, Aris, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M. Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, and Agus Promono. 2015. Demography of Indonesia’s Ethnicity. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Ansori, Mohammad Hasan. 2012. From Insurgency to Bureaucracy, Aceh Party and the New Face of Conflict. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 1 (1): 31–44.
Aspinall, Edward. 2008. Peace Without Justice? The Helsinki Peace Process in Aceh. Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. https://www.hdcentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/56JusticeAcehfinalrevJUNE08-May-2008.pdf, 7 January 2018.
Aspinall, Edward. 2009. Combatants to Contractors: The Political Economy of Aceh. Indonesia 87: 1–34. https://cip.cornell.edu/DPubS?service=Repository&version=1.0&verb=Disseminate&view=body&content-type=pdf_1&handle=seap.indo/1241189295#, 8 January 2018.
Awaluddin, Hamid. 2008. Why is Peace in Aceh Successful? Accord 20: 25–27.
Barron, Patrick, Erman Rahmant, and Kharisma Nugroho. 2013. The Contested Corners of Asia: Subnational Conflict and International Development Assistance, The Case of Aceh, Indonesia. Manila: The Asia Foundation.
Barter, Shane Joshua. 2015. Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Second-order Minorities in the Aceh Conflict. Asian Ethnicity 16 (2): 152–165.
Bell, Gary F. 2017. Indonesia’s Weak State Court and Weak Law Fare Poorly in a Pluralist Commercial World. In Pluralism, Transnationalism and Culture in Asian Law: A Book in Honour of M.B. Hooker, ed. Gary F. Bell, 116–150. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Boutros-Ghali, Boutros. 2000. Reflection on the Role of the UN and Its Secretary-General. In Preventive Diplomacy: Stopping Wars Before They Start, ed. Kevin M. Cahill, 189–204. New York: Routledge.
Brahimi, Lakhdar. 2007. State Building in Crisis and Post-conflict Countries, 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government, Building Trust in Government, Vienna, Austria, 26–29 June.
Brown, Graham, Arnim Langer, and Frances Stewart. 2011. A Typology of Post-conflict Environments. Working Paper No. 1, Centre for Research on Peace and Development. https://soc.kuleuven.be/web/files/12/80/wp01.pdf, 26 December 2017.
Buehler, Michael. 2008. The Rise of Shari’a By-Laws in Indonesian Districts: An Indication for Changing Patterns of Power Accumulation and Political Corruption. South East Asia Research 16 (2): 255–285.
Clarke, Ross, Galuh Wandita, and Samsidar. 2008. Considering Victims: The Aceh Peace Process from a Transitional Justice Perspective. Occasional Paper Series, International Center for Transitional Justice, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Crisis Management Initiative. 2017. About Martti Ahtisaari. http://cmi.fi/, 28 December 2017.
Crowther, Sarah. 2001. The Role of NGOs, Local and International, in Post-war Peacebuilding. Discussion Paper No. 15, Committee for Conflict Transformation Support, Conciliation Resources. http://www.c-r.org/downloads/newsletter15.pdf, 8 January 2018.
Djuli, M. Nur. 2011. Does Lack of Employment Among Ex-combatants Lead to an Increase of Violence in Post-conflict Societies? Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. https://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/files/fellows/files/djuli.pdf, 3 January 2018.
Feith, Pieter. 2007. The Aceh Peace Process: Nothing Less Than Success. Special Report 184. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.
Gade, Fakhrurradzie. 2016. Ini Profil Singkta Anggota KKR Aceh. Acehkita, 20 July. http://www.acehkita.com/ini-profil-singkat-anggota-kkr-aceh/, 8 January 2018.
Harfenist, Ethan. 2014. Anti-Shia Sentiment Simmers Ahead of Indonesia’s Election. Vice News, 27 May. https://news.vice.com/article/anti-shia-sentiment-simmers-ahead-of-indonesias-election, 5 January 2018.
Haris, M. 2017. KPK agar awasi dana aspirasi DPR Aceh. Antara Aceh, 8 March. https://aceh.antaranews.com/berita/34741/kpk-agar-awasi-dana-aspirasi-dpr-aceh, 8 January 2018.
Hariyadi, Mathias. 2015. Aceh: Thousands of People Flee Religious Violence Following Church Attacks. Asia News, 15 October. http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Aceh:-thousands-of-people-flee-religious-violence-following-church-attacks-35595.html, 5 January 2018.
Hasan, Nurdin. 2015. After Decade of Peace, Many in Aceh Left Behind. Jakarta Post, 14 August. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/13/after-decade-peace-many-aceh-left-behind.html, 8 January 2018.
Heiling, Robert M. 2008. Conflict Resolution in Aceh in Light of Track One and a Half Diplomacy. Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies 1 (2): 171–186.
Herrberg, Antje. 2008. The Brussels ‘Backstage’ of the Aceh Peace Process. In Reconfiguring Politics: The Indonesia-Aceh Peace Process, ed. Aguswandi and Judith Large, 32–35. London: Conciliation Resources.
Hillman, Ben. 2012. Ethnic politics and Local Political Parties in Indonesia. Asian Ethnicity 13 (4): 419–440.
Human Rights Watch. 2017. Indonesia: ‘Religious Rights’ Bill Would Harm Minorities. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/20/indonesia-religious-rights-bill-would-harm-minorities, 4 January.
ICG. 2007. Aceh: Post-conflict Complications. Asia Report No. 139. https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/139-aceh-post-conflict-complications.pdf, 26 December 2017.
ICG. 2013. Indonesia: Tensions Over Aceh’s Flag. Asia Briefing No. 139, 7 May. Jakarta and Brussels. https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/indonesia-tensions-over-acehs-flag.pdf, 26 December 2016.
Irawan, Andi Muhammad. 2017. ‘They Are not Muslims’: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Ahmadiyya Sect Issue in Indonesia. Discourse & Society 28 (2): 162–181.
Jones, Sidney. 2014. Aceh’s Surprising Election Results. Report No. 10, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.
Junne, Gerd, and Willemijn Verkoren. 2004. Postconflict Development: Meeting New Challenges. London: Lynne Reiner.
Kingsbury, Damien. 2006. Peace in Aceh: A Personal Account of the Helsinki Peace Process. Jakarta and Singapore: Equinox Publishing.
Kloos, David. 2018. Becoming Better Muslims: Religious Authority and Ethical Improvement in Aceh. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Kumar, Krishna. 1999. Promoting Social Reconciliation in Postconflict Societies: Selected Lessons from USAID’s Experience. Assessment Report No. 24, Center for Development Information and Evaluation, USAID. http://www.oecd.org/derec/unitedstates/35112635.pdf, 28 December 2017.
Marhaban, Shadia. 2012. Women in Post-conflict Aceh: Participation in Socio-Economic and Political Processes. Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. https://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/files/fellows/files/marhaban.pdf, 3 January 2018.
McCulloch, Lesley. 2005. Aceh: Then and Now. London: Minority Rights Group International.
Miller, Michelle Ann. 2009. Rebellion and Reform in Indonesia: Jakarta’s Security and Autonomy Policies in Aceh. London and New York: Routledge.
Miller, Michelle Ann. 2010. The Role of Islamic Law (Sharia) in Post-Tsunami Reconstruction. In Post-disaster Reconstruction: Lessons from Aceh, ed. Matthew Clarke, Ismet Fanany, and Sue Kenny. London and New York: Earthscan.
Missbach, Antje. 2012. Separatist Conflict in Indonesia: The Long-Distance Politics of the Acehnese Diaspora. London and New York: Routledge.
Missbach, Antje. 2015. ‘That is Jakarta’s Project’: Views from the Acehnese Diaspora on Shari’a Self-determination and Political Conspiracy. In Islam and the Limits of the State: Reconfigurations of Practice, Community and Authority in Contemporary Aceh, ed. R. Michael Feener, David Kloos, and Annemarie Samuels, 214–242. Leiden: Brill.
Muggah, Robert. 2005. No Magic Bullet: A Critical Perspective on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Weapons Reduction in Post-conflict Contexts. The Round Table 94 (379): 239–252.
Norwegian Nobel Institute. 2017. Martti Ahtisaari—Facts. https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2008/ahtisaari-facts.html, 28 December.
Peace Research Institute Oslo. 2017. PRIO Director’s Speculations 2006. https://www.prio.org/About/PeacePrize/PRIO-Directors-Speculations-2006/, 28 December.
Phelps, Nicholas A., Tim Bunnell, and Michelle Ann Miller. 2011. Post-disaster Economic Development in Aceh: Neoliberalization and Other Economic-Geographical Imaginaries. Geoforum 42: 418–426.
Riddell, Peter G. 2006. Aceh in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: ‘Serambi Mekkah’ and Identity. In Verandah of Violence: The Background to the Aceh Problem, ed. Anthony Reid, 38–51. Singapore: Singapore University Press; Seattle: Washington University Press.
Serambi Indonesia. 2013. Kilas Balik Pajak Nanggroe, 18 September. http://aceh.tribunnews.com/2013/09/18/kilas-balik-pajak-nanggroe, 8 January 2018.
Shea, Nathan. 2016. Nongovernmental Organisations as Mediators: Making Peace in Aceh, Indonesia. Global Change, Peace & Security 28 (2): 177–196.
Smith, Michael E. 2017. Europe’s Common Security and Defence Policy: Capacity-Building, Experiential Learning and Institutional Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Solahudin, and Dave MacRae. 2013. The Roots of Terrorism in Indonesia: From Darul Islam to Jema’ah Islamiyah. Sydney: UNSW Press and Lowy Institute for International Policy.
Spear, Joanna. 2006. Disarmament, demobilisation, reinsertion and reintegration in Africa. In Ending Africa’s Wars: Progressing to Peace, ed. Oliver Furley and Roy May, 63–80. London: Ashgate.
Stewar, Emma J. 2006. The European Union and Conflict Prevention: Policy Evolution and Outcome. Berlin: Lit Verlag.
The Guardian. 2013. Indonesian Province Moves to Ban Women from Straddling Motorbikes, 7 January. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/07/indonesia-aceh-ban-women-motorbikes, 7 January 2018.
The Military Balance. 2014. Chapter Six: Asia. 114 (1): 201–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/04597222.2014.871879.
United Nations Development Programme. 2010. Capacity Development in Post-conflict Countries. Global Event Working Paper. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/aplaws/publication/en/publications/capacity-development/capacity-development-in-post-conflict-countries/CD%20in%20post%20conflict%20countries.pdf, 28 December 2017.
Viltchek, Andre. 2012. Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear. London: Pluto Press.
Widodo, Joko [@jokowi]. 2015. Hentikan kekerasan di Aceh Singkil, 13 October. https://twitter.com/jokowi/status/654116423984218112, 4 January 2018.
Zulhilmi, Z., and Ady Muzwardi. 2016. Aceh Conflict Resolution by the Government of Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan: Kajian Ilmu Pemerintahan dan Politik Daerah 1 (1): 158–167.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Espesor, J.C. (2019). Resident Evil at the Gate of the Holy Land: Brewing Socio-politico Tensions in Post-conflict Aceh. In: Lutmar, C., Ockey, J. (eds) Peacebuilding in the Asia-Pacific. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78595-0_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78595-0_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-78594-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-78595-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)