When Violence Works: Postconflict Violence and Peace in Indonesia

Patrick Barron

Published by Cornell University Press 2019

When Violence Works

Postconflict Violence and Peace in Indonesia

Patrick Barron

https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501735455

Overview
Contents

About this book

Why are some places successful in moving from war to consolidated peace while others continue to be troubled by violence? And why does postconflict violence take different forms and have different intensities? By developing a new theory of postconflict violence Patrick Barron's When Violence Works makes a significant contribution to our understanding.

Barron picks out three postconflict regions in Indonesia in which to analyze what happens once the "official" fighting ends: North Maluku has seen peace consolidated; Maluku still witnesses large episodes of violence; and Aceh experiences continuing occurrences of violence but on a smaller scale than in Maluku. He argues that violence after war has ended (revenge killings, sexual violence, gang battles, and violent crime, in addition to overtly political conflict) is not the result of failed elite bargains or weak states, but occurs because the actors involved see it as beneficial and lowcost. His findings pertain directly to Indonesia, but the theory will have relevance far beyond as those studying countries such as Colombia, the Philippines, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria seek a framework in which to assess what happens after war ends. Barron's theory also provides practical guidance for policymakers and development practitioners. Ultimately, When Violence Works pushes forward our understanding of why postconflict violence occurs and takes the forms it does.

Author / Editor information

Patrick Barron is Regional Advisor for the World Bank. He previously served as Regional Director at The Asia Foundation and led the World Bank's conflict programming in Indonesia for seven years. He is coauthor of the award-winning Contesting Development and has written for World Development, Journal of Political Economy, and Journal of East Asian Studies.

Reviews

Ashutosh Varshney, Brown University:

Does peace obtain after civil war or big riots? This book explains why, after big conflict, small violence persists. It concentrates on Indonesia, a country which has not played a big role in ethnic conflict literature, though it certainly should. When Violence Works is a noteworthy contribution.

Christopher R. Duncan, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers University, and author of Violence and Vengeance:

When Violence Works is an impressive book on multiple levels. Its theoretical sophistication will appeal to theorists in political science and peace studies. While its presentation of detailed case studies on post-conflict regions in Indonesia will be of great interest to scholars working in Southeast Asia.

MOHAMMAD ZULFAN TADJOEDDIN, Western Sydney University, Australia:

This is the first comprehensive book on post-conflict violence in Indonesia...The title perfectly tells what the book does. Barron eloquently explains when violence works by systematically identifying two local actors (local violence specialists and local politicians) and their involvements in violence. The book explains why, how and in what circumstances different scales of post-conflict violence emerge.

Judging from the informative stories that Barron uses to illustrate his analysis, primal hatreds still fuel conflict and do not yield easily to institutional fixes.

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Tables and Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Studying Postconflict Violence: Approaches and Methods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
2. Explaining Postconflict Violence: Evidence, Theories, and Arguments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
3. Violence and Indonesia’s Democratic Transition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
4. Large Episodic Violence in Postconflict Maluku Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	64
5. North Maluku’s Peace Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
6. Small Episodic Violence in Postconflict Aceh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
7. Why Has Extended Violent Conflict Not Recurred? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	160
Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Appendix. The National Violence Monitoring System Dataset Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 300
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 1
- Line drawings: 3
- Other: 3 b&w line drawings, 1 map, 4 graphs
Keywords: Southeast Asia; postconflict; post-conflict; civil war; Indonesia; violence; conflict studies; peace; President Suharto; postconflict violence; violence in Indonesia; Colombia; Philippines; Syria; Afghanistan; Iraq; Maluku; Aceh; National Violence Monitoring System

eBook

Published: April 15, 2019
ISBN: 9781501735455