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2017 Arryman Fellows Symposium

2017 Arryman Fellows: Sofyan Ansori, Robie Kholilurrahman, Muhammad Ridha, and Perdana Roswaldy

• Sofyan Ansori, Anthropology, “On the Fingertips of Government: Forest Fires and Shifting Allegiance of State Officials in Indonesia”

Forest fire interventions have been ineffective because of shifting allegiance of state officials. This paper argues that the shift is driven by problematic enforcement and disempowering bureaucracy on the one hand, and heavy socio-cultural pressure on the other. These dynamics create a particular juncture that stirs the lower rank officials’ positionality and they, in turn, use their power to stand with the society to overcome the state's strategies.

Respondent: Kyle Craig, PhD Student, Anthropology

• Robie Kholilurrahman, Political Science, “Politics of Premature Deindustrialization: The Case of Indonesia”

The literature regarding premature deindustrialization in developing countries have overemphasized the economic causes and overlooked the political causes. Using the Indonesian case, this paper argues that premature deindustrialization would not have occurred even if the economic causes were there, had the political causes not also occurred. Specifically, the post-crisis breakdown of the state in the face of the reconsolidation of capital and the failure in tackling the political-economic reform dilemma during the democratic transition are proposed as two political causes of premature deindustrialization (2000-2016) in Indonesia.

Respondent: Zhihang Ruan, PhD Student, Political Science

• Muhammad Ridha, Political Science, “Constrained Hegemony: Islamic Politics and The State in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia”

This paper aims to elucidate why the aspiration of post-authoritarian Islamic politics in Indonesia has gained influence in the democratic process despite the disappointing performance of the Islamic political parties. It argues that Islamic politics is experiencing what I call as “constrained hegemony.” It suggests that the current paradoxical situation of Islamic politics is the result of the failure of Islamic politics to politically dominate the state along with the resurgence of Islamic conservatism in post-authoritarian Indonesia.

Respondent: Lamin Keita, PhD Student, Political Science

• Perdana Roswaldy, Sociology, “Disaggregating the State, Discerning Class Formation: Understanding the Persistence of Indonesia’s Transmigration Through Comparative Historical Analysis on Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA)”

This paper aims to understand why Indonesia resuscitates the land resettlement policy called transmigration, despite its economic failure, contentious character, and its high cost. The Indonesian case will be compared to Malaysia's land resettlement policy named Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) that ceased in 1990. This preliminary study suggests that the continuation of contentiously costly program like transmigration is determined by a set of factors from Cold War geopolitics to the particularity of the program. Such factors are enabled and orchestrated by the fragmented state actors and their relationship with a particular class called the smallholder that is inherent in the land resettlement policy.

Respondent: Yannick Coenders, PhD Student, Sociology

*Indonesian lunch will be provided