Seminar Series: Abstract

Combatants to Contractors: the Political Economy of Peace in Aceh
Dr Edward Aspinall - Senior Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, ANU

One of the least-frequently remarked upon features of the peace process in Aceh is the economic transformation being experienced by former combatants. Throughout Aceh, many former guerillas from GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) are becoming successful businesspeople. Specifically, most are becoming contractors working in the construction industry, building infrastructure (especially roads, bridges, and irrigation channels) or providing materials (sand, stones, and timber) for such work. They have entered one of the most politicized and corrupt sectors of the Indonesian economy. Throughout the country, construction contracts are often awarded on the basis of political connections, and large proportions of contract costs are lost to corruption. In Aceh, ex-GAM commanders are winning contracts funded by district development budgets or as part of post-tsunami reconstruction. They succeed not because of their experience, skills or capacities in construction, but because of their political influence and the intimidating muscle power of their followers. The Aceh experience thus throws light both on the predatory arrangements that dominate provincial economic life in Indonesia, and on the role that corruption can play in peace processes.