The West Papua Imagined Community: A Bondless Plural Society
This study discusses the architecture of the society of West Papua (region) in Indonesia and explores how modernisation, democracy, and conflict shape its identity formation. The study challenges previous studies on West Papua that portray the society as
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The West Papua Imagined Community: A Bondless Plural Society Nino Viartasiwi, Agus Trihartono, and Hary Yuswadi
Abstract This study discusses the architecture of the society of West Papua (region) in Indonesia and explores how modernisation, democracy, and conflict shape its identity formation. The study challenges previous studies on West Papua that portray the society as homogeneous and tribal. It proposes that contemporary West Papua’s society is also characterised by multiethnicity. Further, this study suggests that a new phenomenon of a divided society is factual in West Papua, and the situation is sustained by political and economic competition among different groups. The map of the contemporary society of West Papua in this study can be used as a departure for further studies on West Papua.
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Introduction
The region of West Papua in Indonesia consists of the following two provinces: Papua Province and West Papua Province. West Papua region (hereafter, West Papua) has suffered demographic explosion and unequal economic growth due to a flood of migrants. As a result of this migration, West Papua’s society is heterogeneous with different ethnic groups mingling and blending without any real distinction among the communities. The diversity is mostly shown in the feeling of being different from others and down to loyalty to its imagined community based on ethnicity. Socially, communities are assimilated. Politically, the gap is apparent and growing wider. However, segregation in the society based on ethnicity does not N. Viartasiwi (*) Institute of International Relations and Area Studies, Ritsumeikan University, 56-1 Toji-in, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8577, Kyoto, Japan e-mail: [email protected] A. Trihartono Center for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (C-RiSSH) and Department of International Relations, The University of Jember, Tegalboto Campus, Jember 68121, Indonesia H. Yuswadi Department of Sociology, The University of Jember, Tegalboto Campus, Jember 68121, Indonesia © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 B. McLellan (ed.), Sustainable Future for Human Security, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-5433-4_6
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parallel with class stratification based on economic power. Each ethnic group presents various layers of the class system, although some ethnic groups have relatively stronger economic power than others. The discussion of West Papuan social architecture in this study is based on racial diversification in the society. It starts with the description of the native inhabitants of West Papua. This is followed by an examination of non-indigenous communities that have been unrecognised and perceived as the source of the problem by many studies of West Papua. The examination of a political incentive, namely, the Special Autonomy Status, that is given by the central government, reveals that the incentive has encouraged fundamental sociopolitical change in the society.1 This study concludes that the ongoing change of the social map of West Papua society and the dynamic of West
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