Chapter 6 Terrorism and violent internal conflict in post-soeharto Indonesia: Beyond the Jihadi prism of analysis

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-8323(2010)0000014010
• Date: 08 July 2010
• Published date: 08 July 2010
• Pages: 89-105
• Author: Leanne Piggott

CHAPTER 6

TERRORISM AND VIOLENT

INTERNAL CONFLICT IN

POST-SOEHARTO INDONESIA:

BEYOND THE JIHADI PRISM

OF ANALYSIS

Leanne Piggott

ABSTRACT

Purpose – Since September 2001, most studies of terrorism have focused

on the motives and operations of transnational terrorist groups, especially

Islamist jihadi groups. Yet statistics from the past decade indicate that

most terrorist attacks occurred within violent internal conf‌licts. Indonesia

is a case in point. Following the fall of the Soeharto regime in 1998,

terrorism became a hallmark of separatist and inter-communal violence

that cost the lives of thousands of Indonesians. The aim of this chapter is

to look beyond the jihadi-focused prism of terrorism studies and to

examine the secessionist conf‌licts in Aceh and Papua to determine why

and to what extent terrorism was used by the Free Aceh Movement

(GAM) and the Free Papua Movement (OPM) respectively, and the

role that economic factors played in the process.

Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives

Contributions to Conf‌lict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Volume 14, 89–105

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ISSN: 1572-8323/doi:10.1108/S1572-8323(2010)0000014010

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Methodology – By synthesising the causes of violent internal conf‌licts

and of terrorism, a framework of societal and organisational factors is

constructed to explain why terrorism was used by GAM and OPM, and

why, in the case of GAM it stopped,while in the case of OPM, it continues.

Findings – In general, socio-economic and political factors rather than

religious ideology explain why terrorism was used by GAM and continues

to be used by OPM in their respective secessionist conf‌licts. Economic

grievances fuelled by resource exploitation and inequitable sharing of

resource rents have been contributing factors.

Originality/value of chapter – The analysis departs from previous

approaches, which have focused primarily on the causes and course of the

conf‌licts themselves and not on when and why such conf‌licts have included

terrorist attacks.

INTRODUCTION

The vast literature on terrorism that followed al-Qaeda’s attacks on New

York and Washington on 11 September 2001 provides numerous explana-

tions of what terrorism is, why terrorists choose such a violent modus

operandi, and what they seek. Most works, which are written by Western

scholars, focus on the motives and operations of transnational groups

1

which are responsible for attacks on democratic states, especially Islamist

jihadi groups,

2

and in particular al-Qaeda. Others have examined

asymmetrical conf‌licts in which transnational jihadi terrorist groups are

pitted against local and/or international military forces, as in Iraq and

Afghanistan. Accordingly, the role of religious ideology within transna-

tional groups is highlighted as a ‘root cause’ of contemporary terrorism. Yet

statistics on terrorist attacks over the past decade indicate that most

occurred in the context of violent internal conf‌licts in which domestic actors

were prevalent, operating outside the framework of transnational groups.

Indeed, the available data indicates that domestic incidents of terrorism

are substantially higher in number than international incidents, with

correspondingly higher f‌igures for injuries and deaths (Stepanova, 2008;

Derin-Gu

¨re, 2009). Further, in cases that involve secessionist groups, socio-

economic and political factors rather than religious ideology provide a more

comprehensive understanding of why terrorism occurs.

Indonesia is a case in point. In the wake of the economic crisis that

preceded the fall of the Soeharto regime in 1998 and the political instability

that followed, long-standing separatist conf‌licts in Aceh, East Timor and

LEANNE PIGGOTT90