Explaining Collective Violence in Contemporary Indonesia / Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific (PDF)

Mohammad Zulfan Tadjoeddin is a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. He has held visiting research appointments at the Queen Elizabeth House (QEH) of the University of Oxford, UK and at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He has consulted for various UN agencies such as ILO, UNDP and UNICEF.

'This insightful book powerfully illuminates Indonesia's complex history of conflict and demonstrates how different types of conflict relate to alternative theoretical perspectives.' - Frances Stewart, University of Oxford, UK

'This is an elegant and insightful book with important policy implications for promoting democratic consolidation in Indonesia and beyond.' - Scott Gates, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway

'Zulfan Tadjoeddin has written a book that will enrich and challenge our understanding of collective violence in Indonesia and, by extension, in many other settings. Comparing different varieties of violence ethnic, separatist, everyday and electoral that are often treated as entirely distinct and drawing upon a large mass of data, his study convincingly lays bare the political economy roots of conflict.' - Edward Aspinall, Australian National University, Australia

'This is undoubtedly a must-read book for anyone who seriously cares about the intricate nexus of conflict, social contract, and socio-economic development. The country under study, Indonesia, poses important characteristics for comparative conflict analysis: resource-rich, unequal income distribution, decentralized system, free election, heterogeneous and multi-ethnic, making some grand generalizations not unjust. What makes it an indispensable read is the rational explanations and arguments it provides that things like reduced inequality is not always favourable for stability. The nature of social contract matters, so does the sequencing of democracy, prosperity, and market liberalization. Readers may dispute some of the arguments, but I was fascinated and fairly convinced' - Iwan Azis, Cornell University, USA