dougnoll’s posthaven

Segment 1: Conflict, Rebellion and Corruption.  On this edition of The Doug Noll Show we are speaking with anthropologist and author Christopher Duncan. Dr. Duncan, a graduate of Yale University, is currently a professor of Religious and Global Studies at Arizona State University. Christopher took his first cultural anthropology class as an undergraduate. In grad school he had the goal of working with indigenous healers in Guatemala but ultimately decided to study Indonesia. Indonesia has been a hotbed of conflict for a long time. In general Christopher thinks the cause of this conflict is due to the fact that Indonesia is an incredibly diverse country with between 400-800 different language groups and 5 major religions. Additionally, at the turn of century Indonesia’s very long and powerful iron fist dictatorship fell. Once the dictator’s grip was loosened, conflict and rebellions and corruption began to surface.

Segment 2: A Religious State.  Halmahera was Christopher’s first research site. His initial research project was to find a particular forest-dwelling hunting and gathering community that lived in the interior area of Halmahera and live with and study them.

Christopher tells us that there has been a long-standing Indonesian government policy to force people to convert to one of the world’s large religious groups (Muslim or Christianity). The compromise: Indonesia decided that rather than having a state religion, they would be a religious state. After 1965 when the military dictatorship came into power, in order for an Indonesian to function in society, they needed an ID card. To get an ID card, they had to have a religion, which is listed on the ID card. They are unable to send their kids to school, vote, register their land, etc. unless they had an ID card with a religion listed.

Segment 3: North Maluku.  In North Maluku there was what Christopher called a Communal Conflict. It ended in a stalemate. Each side took over the areas they were able to take over and everyone was pushed into their corner. There was a large massacre in a church where 20+ people were killed, and after that the Indonesian government declared a state of energy. The Indonesian government did not do any formal peacemaking programs in North Maluku. It fell upon local communities to make peace and reconnect with their neighbors and enemies.

Segment 4:  Violence and Vengeance.  Christopher’s book, Violence and Vengeance, is about the way people are remembering the various conflicts in Indonesia. There’s a landscape dotted with monuments dedicated to religious conflict. He believes the biggest issue was the breakdown of the security in the country. If the security apparatus would’ve been a bit more robust, the conflicts might have been avoided. To find out more about Dr. Christopher Duncan, please visit https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/853633.

CLICK HERE to listen to the entire interview.