Nationalism and Ethnic conflict

After Suharto ended his long dictatorial reign in 1998 there was a substantial increase in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia. Author Jacques Bertrand claims religious and ethnic conflict defined Indonesia’s national model. This resulted in three critical junctures during Suharto’s retirement of his sovereign rule. The three critical junctures defined Indonesia’s “terms of citizenship, and give meaning to the structure and procedures of an institution” (Bertrand, 20). When Suharto left as dictator, major political and social changes consumed Indonesia, which threatened the Indonesian realm. The people of Indonesia struggled to define their sense of nationalism.

The national model of Indonesia was a set of standards on the nature of the nation, its composition, and it’s boundaries. Stakeholders agreed on institutional frameworks or those imposed in political power. Surprisingly, ethnic groups tend to worry about losing their position they held or struggled for improvement within the country.

President Suharto ruled Indonesia for over 33 years. During his rule, Indonesia made the transition from an authoritarian state to an autocratic state. The conflict that arose was between central government and separatist movements, and also included localized religious and ethnic quarrel. Surprisingly, these riots spread across Eastern Indonesia, which established doubts about the balance of the Indonesian nation. Bertrand points out that in 1995 and 1996, the riots of Situbondo, Tasikmalya, and Java, resulted in countless deaths and the wreckage of private property occurred. By 2000, over 10,000 people were killed by ethnic violence in Indonesia.

The national model excluded some groups from a largely inclusive concept of the n...

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...al action aimed for claiming ethnic representation and access to resources. Islamists wanted to reopen questions relating to the role of Islam in the policy: For example, the Dayaks refused to continue to be marginalized, East Timorese seized the moment to push for independence, and Acehnese survived to regain their independence in Indonesia.

We learn from Bertrand that past choices affect current outcomes. He notes “National models based on single nations are cultural criteria that exclude a marginalized groups may predict violence” (Bertrand, 223). These critical junctures were key factors in generating ethnic and religious conflict in Indonesia. Indonesia has been affected greatly by these incidents and still struggle to survive in this political turmoil.

Works Cited

Bertrand, Jacques. Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1995.