Paper short abstract:

Taking one of the conflicts of the post-Suharto era in Indonesia as a sample, the so-called ‘religious war’ in the Moluccas, this paper reflects on the reconciliatory potential of the revival of tradition and discusses challenges and shortcomings of cultural approaches to conflict resolution.

Paper long abstract:

One of the most violent conflicts of the post-Suharto era took place in the Moluccas, Eastern Indonesia, from 1999 until 2002. Due to a strategic mobilisation process it was mainly fought out between Christians and Muslims. After the conflict, local actors in the Moluccas hope to build up sustainable peace through the revival of traditions that are supposed to overcome religious differences and enable a harmonious living together. Taking up these local voices or voices that claim to be local, this paper wants to reflect on the reconciliatory potential of the revival of tradition.

The revival process benefits from a new law passed by the Indonesian government in 1999 that transfers political authority to the districts and enables villages to go back to their traditional governmental structures. This new policy was accompanied by a trend of revitalization of adat - tradition and customary law - in many parts of Indonesia. Some observers pointed to the reconciliatory potential of adat in various places in Indonesia, but others warn against a rash identification of adat with harmony and peace. In my paper I would like to discuss the option of a cultural approach to conflict solution and reconciliation in the Moluccas. Talking about the challenges and problems of the revival-reconciliation interplay, I try to reveal both the integrative as well as the exclusivist character of revived traditions that are supposed to overcome religious differences.