Paper short abstract:

The talk thematizes effects of socio-geographical marginalization in Jakarta. It juxtaposes illegal settlements to current governmental efforts to regain exclusive control over illegally used land. It is expected that the city's government will undertake stronger incursions into illegal settlements deemed ecologically precarious and deviant. The presentation discusses strategies mobilized by squatters to deal with social exclusion and the fear of eviction. Although protest appears hopeless, some residents engage in activism, creating interesting intersections with urban politics.

Paper long abstract:

Ideas detailed in the presentation draw from the results of a research project started in 2010 under the supervision of Michel Agier. Current investigations include an analysis of the Master Plan for Jakarta. It is against the background of this comprehensive plan - an artifact of top-down urban politics - that I demonstrate the manifold ways of illegal residents to deal with (economic and ecological) hardship. Their dwellings are highly uncertain places, since they are subject to state intervention and ecological degradation. How do marginalized subjects without access to legitimate political channels, deprived of citizen rights, then remain active and attentive users and manufacturers of the city?

"'Projects' emphasize agency (...) and lend voice to multiple, overlapping languages - of politics, aesthetics, irony and hope." (Simone 2011:359). Similar to the African context observed by Simone, Jakarta's illegal settlements exemplify innovative arrangements made in order to ward off the difficulties faced by poor populations: a deteriorating environment and injunctions by powerful actors. These arrangements can involve deal-making with gangsters, officials or non-profit workers. How do we account for these individual or collective "projects"? Along the lines of Chuengsatiansup's notion of collective suffering I argue that, "against the politics of exclusion, illegal residents can construct an alternative sphere of autonomy, which (...) expands to include themselves as legitimate new actors" (Chuengsatiansup 2001:68).

Such "urban politics" is still underexposed in anthropology. By pointing to a fairly unknown but richly documented locale - the metropolis Jakarta - the presentation will help to surround the workshop's focus on "uncertain spaces" with interesting reflections.