This book explores the ambiguous legal status of traditional–adat–communities in Indonesia and their informal, traditional rights to communal–ulayat–land. It discusses the lack of recognition of adat communities and their legal rights in the Indonesian constitution, surveys legal consideration of informal legal rights both in Indonesia and elsewhere, and examines how thinking about these issues has evolved over time in Indonesia. It provides an in-depth study of the ways that government policies on adat communities are developed, changed and implemented, and how different actors give meaning to these policies, particularly government bodies with authority to manage land and forests, which exercise discretion as to the operational implementation of ideas about adat groups as legal persons and ulayat land rights as land title, thus enabling their exploitation by government and business. The book highlights how these issues are becoming more pressing as problems relating to legal personhood and rights to traditional customary land are increasingly giving rise to violent conflict, dispossession and marginalisation. It also demonstrates how adat communities can take action, and are doing so, to protect their legal positions.

This book provides an overview of recent advances in Integrated Community-Managed Development (ICMD) as an innovative strategy for the community-based development of local institutions in order to achieve lasting poverty reduction and empowerment. The original approach presented here to improving the lives and livelihoods of the poor takes a critical stance on the failing concept of conventional community development, as it is based on the shifting paradigm of 'bottom-up' cooperation and development, where recent regional autonomy policies are enabling national services to successfully integrate with local institutions at the community level. Based on recent experiences in South-East Asia, where the implementation of an alternative approach to integrating financial, medical, educational, communication and socio-cultural services has led to increased community participation and impressive poverty reduction, the book highlights the theoretical, methodological and practical aspects of this innovative strategy. The potential offered by applying the newly developed 'ICMD formula' worldwide as a function of themes, principles and services is reflected in the book’s diverse range of contributions, written by respected researchers and practitioners in the fields of development economics and financial management.

Traditional architecture, which has evolved in harmony with the natural environment and the rhythms of a daily life far removed from industrialized society, is currently inspiring an awakening of interest throughout the world. Nowhere is more deserving of this attention than the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, whose wide range of peoples and terrain have produced the most extraordinary vernacular building. Characteristic of many Indonesian architectural styles are village houses raised on stilts, high above monsoon muds and malarial mosquitoes, where they benefit from cooling breezes. Walls, window frames, posts and pillars are often beautifully carved and painted with images of guardian spirits and ancestors, animal and human figures, spirals, and floral and geometric patterning. Majestic roofs can dwarf the living accommodation; their sweeping slopes dispel tropical rainwater, and their overhanging caves offer shade from the sun. Construction with pegs and wedges instead of nails affords buildings both the strength and the flexibility needed to withstand earthquakes and yet be easily dismantled and transported to a new location. In many communities the house is regarded as a spiritual, almost corporeal entity, whose construction involves many rituals and superstitions. It forms the focal point for a villager's sense of community, ancestry and social standing. Barry Dawson and John Gillow's firsthand research has provided the basis for this detailed examination of Indonesian vernacular building, which analyses the predominant types of each island, and how they relate to the architectural needs of the present and future. Historical photographs, drawings and nearly 200 dazzlingphotographs of villages, houses, barns, meeting halls, places of worship and domestic interiors, vividly illustrate the enormous diversity of traditional styles to be found throughout the islands. From the dignity and grandeur of the Minangkabau houses of Sumatra to the imposing solidity of the Dayak communal longhouses, Java's rich legacy of Hindu-Buddhism or the humble "haystack" houses of the Atoni of Timor, the astounding vernacular architecture of Indonesia is thoroughly and magnificently documented.

Defending Traditional Islam in Indonesia examines the rise of young preachers of Arab descent (habaib) and their sermon groups in the region and shows how Islam and politics coexist, flourish, interlace, and strive in Indonesia in complex, pragmatic, and mutually beneficial relationships. The book argues that the emergence of Arab preachers in the late 1990s, when traditional forms of Islamic authority came under growing challenge from a diverse array of Muslim groups and ideologies, is closely tied to contestation between traditionalists and their puritanical rivals, the Salafi-Wahhabi. Not only have the habaib featured prominently in defending traditionalism, they have also used this contestation as an opportunity to build their authority and religious capital through marketisation and their ties to the Middle East. The author explores the ways in which habaib promote themselves to the mostly young urban, Muslim community, and also analyses the use of new media and marketing strategies by habaib to attract young followers. The use of merchandise utilising popular culture and group identity markers is especially salient in the preachers’ outreach to urban audiences. In addition, public staging and entertainment during preaching activities are means by which the habaib cast their Islamic preaching (dakwah) as the Prophet’s mission and encourage their followers’ participation. A novel socio-cultural and religious study and a contribution to the growing discussion on new media, market, and religion, this book will be of interest to anthropologists, social scientists and area studies scholars interested in Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Islamic studies.

The Indonesian term adat means ‘custom’ or ‘tradition’, and carries connotations of sedate order and harmony. Yet in recent years it has suddenly become associated with activism, protest and violence. This book investigates the revival of adat in Indonesian politics, identifying its origins, the historical factors that have conditioned it and the reasons behind its recent blossoming. It considers whether the adat revival is a constructive contribution to Indonesia’s new political pluralism or a divisive, dangerous and reactionary force, and examines the implications for the development of democracy, human rights, civility and political stability. The Revival of Tradition in Indonesian Politics provides detailed coverage of the growing significance of adat in Indonesian politics. It is an important resource for anyone seeking to understand the contemporary Indonesian political landscape.

Dit is de eerste Engelstalige publicatie over vrouwen in traditionele islamitische onderwijsinstellingen in Indonesië, de zogenaamde 'pesantren'. Deze vrouwen spelen een belangrijke rol de genderproblematiek in de Indonesische moslimgemeenschap. Deze informatieve en inzichtelijke studie dient twee groeiende onderzoeksgebieden in de studies over Indonesië: de studie naar de islam en de studie naar moslimvrouwen. Tevens voegt het een nieuw perspectief toe aan de bestaande Engelstalige literatuur over moslima's buiten de huidige dominante context van het Midden-Oosten of Sub-Indische continent.

Indonesia's political and governmental structures underwent sweeping reforms in the late 1990s. After decades of authoritarian rule, a key aspect of the transition to constitutional democracy during this period was the amendment of the 1945 Indonesian Constitution - an important legal text governing the world's third largest democracy. The amended Constitution introduced profound changes to the legal and political system, including an emphasis on judicial independence, a bill of rights, and the establishment of a Constitutional Court. This volume, with chapters written by leading experts, explores the ongoing debates over the meaning, implementation, and practice of constitutional democracy in Indonesia. This includes debates over the powers of the legislature, the role of the military, the scope of decentralisation, the protection of rights and permissible limits on rights, the regulation of elections, the watchdog role of accountability agencies, and the leading role of the Constitutional Court. These legal issues are analysed in light of the contemporary social, political, and economic environment that has seen a decline in tolerance, freedom, and respect for minorities. Contributions to this volume review the past two decades of reform in Indonesia and assess the challenges to the future of constitutional democracy amidst the wide-spread consensus on the decline of democracy in Indonesia. Demands for amendments to the Constitution and calls to revert to its initial form would be a reversal of Indonesia's democratic gains.

This volume brings together new scholarship by Indonesian and non-Indonesian scholars on Indonesia’s cultural history from 1950-1965. During the new nation’s first decade and a half, Indonesia’s links with the world and its sense of nationhood were vigorously negotiated on the cultural front. Indonesia used cultural networks of the time, including those of the Cold War, to announce itself on the world stage. International links, post-colonial aspirations and nationalistic fervour interacted to produce a thriving cultural and intellectual life at home. Essays discuss the exchange of artists, intellectuals, writing and ideas between Indonesia and various countries; the development of cultural networks; and ways these networks interacted with and influenced cultural expression and discourse in Indonesia. With contributions by Keith Foulcher, Liesbeth Dolk, Hairus Salim HS, Tony Day, Budiawan, Maya H.T. Liem, Jennifer Lindsay, Els Bogaerts, Melani Budianta, Choirotun Chisaan, I Nyoman Darma Putra, Barbara Hatley, Marije Plomp, Irawati Durban Ardjo, Rhoma Dwi Aria Yuliantri and Michael Bodden.

The Ecology of Papua provides a comprehensive review of current scientific knowledge on all aspects of the natural history of western (Indonesian) New Guinea. Designed for students of conservation, environmental workers, and academic researchers, it is a richly detailed text, dense with biogeographical data, historical reference, and fresh insight on this complicated and marvelous region. We hope it will serve to raise awareness of Papua on a global as well as local scale, and to catalyze effective conservation of its most precious natural assets. New Guinea is the largest and highest tropical island, and one of the last great wilderness areas remaining on Earth. Papua, the western half of New Guinea, is noteworthy for its equatorial glaciers, its vast forested floodplains, its imposing central mountain range, its Raja Ampat Archipelago, and its several hundred traditional forest-dwelling societies. One of the wildest places left in the world, Papua possesses extraordinary biological and cultural diversity. Today, Papua’s environment is under threat from growing outside pressures to exploit its expansive forests and to develop large plantations of oil palm and biofuels. It is important that Papua’s leadership balance economic development with good resource management, to ensure the long-term well-being of its culturally diverse populace.