Yunanto, Sri
(2013)
A Weak State And Strong Militants:
Religious Violence In Indonesia
With Special Reference To Jakarta, Bali, Maluku And Poso.
PhD thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Abstract
This thesis attempts to analyze the involvement of militant Islamist groups in terror attacks in Jakarta and Bali and religious conflicts intertwined with terror attacks in Maluku and Poso. It also looks at the political and security dimensions of a weak state to explain their rise. Using the comparative method, this thesis generates three important findings. First, the Islamist organization JI is found as the major perpetrator of terror attacks in Jakarta, Bali, and other places in Indonesia. Second, a similar pattern of local, national, and international Islamic militant groups’ involvement was identified in the Maluku and Poso conflicts. However, some differences have also been observed, including the particular involvement of Laskar Mujahidin in the Maluku conflict-instead of the Poso one and the distinct nature of terror attacks in the Maluku and Poso conflicts. Third, the presence of a nexus linking weak political and security institutions is responsible for the government’s incapacity to prevent terror attacks and religious conflicts. Multi-layered conflicts and controversies surrounding political elites and rampant practices of corruption collusions and nepotisms, which serve as political challenges at central levels of political parties , parliament and bureaucracy, eventually spill over to local levels. The only stark difference is the relatively higher intensity of corruption openly practiced in Poso. However, similar problems in security reform is also found in Jakarta, which lead to the politicization and conflicts among military and police officers. This degradation results in partisanships to their co-religionists, ineffective intelligence services, commercialization of security services, poor law enforcement, poor prison management, and poor border control.
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