Indonesia Study Group: Abstracts

12:30-2:00pm
May 06 2009
Seminar Room B (Arndt Room)

Provincial Elections, religious leadership and peace-building processes in Lombok, Indonesia
Jeremy Kingsley, (Asian Law Centre, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne)

This paper, which is based on 15 months of fieldwork, evaluates dispute resolution process on the eastern Indonesian island of Lombok. My research has considered both the formal and informal legal, religious and social institutions that influence peace-building and dispute resolution processes in Lombok. Over the past decade, communal conflicts have emerged across the Indonesian archipelago as a result of economic and political instability. Lombok like other parts of Indonesia was affected by this violence, although, it did not suffer in the same acute manner. This restrained response arose, in many regards, due to the important role of religious leadership. This paper will consider how Tuan Guru (local Islamic leaders) have acted as calming influences during the periods of social instability and violence. The paper will consider Tuan Guru engaged with government leaders and bureaucrats in a peace-building strategy developed for the 2008 Gubernatorial Elections.