From Insurgency to Political Legitimacy: Stories of Peacebuilding and Political Transformation from Indonesia

It is commonly understood that peacebuilding plays a significant role in the transition from armed conflict to an enduring peace. In many places worldwide, however, peacebuilding efforts fail to maintain peace and to reach consensual values among stakeholders, especially between the government, insurgent group and society. There are only a few cases where peace was successfully achieved and sustained through political transformation. Indonesia is a country that has experienced both failure and successful peacebuilding and political transformation following a serious insurgency. So, this paper sets out to explore the meaning and practices of peacebuilding and insurgent transformation in Indonesia. It asks, what has made peacebuilding and insurgent transformation successful and positive in some cases but not in others? First, I describe the success of the peacebuilding and insurgent transformation in Aceh Province. The Aceh case demonstrates that local autonomy and local parties give space for insurgents and local society to build a positive security environment. Next, I examine what is happening in Papua Province. Here I find that local people and insurgents are not much accommodated through the local autonomy and local privileges. Then, I take a closer look at the role that ideology and identity play in moving from an insurgency to political legitimacy. I argue that the key is to build mutual trust. Finally, I conclude that the transformation and acceptance of insurgents into a political party are crucial for a sustainable peace.