Amaliah Fitriah

Citation

Thesis Title
Decentralization, Identity Construction, and Conflict: Education under Aceh's Special Autonomy

Read article at Massey Research Online:

As a multi-ethnic and multicultural country, Indonesia faces challenges in addressing the potential threats of disintegration and secessionism. Decentralisation was chosen as a strategy to manage conflict and problems stemming from distinct local identities. Ms Fitriah explored the development of education under Aceh's Special Autonomy to understand the impact of decentralisation on the autonomy of the region, and the potential contribution of autonomy to the peaceful management of conflict. She found that decentralisation implemented through the mechanism of bottom-up autonomy can be an alternative solution for regional demands for secession. Bottom-up autonomy provided a framework to accommodate distinct local identities and a framework for local empowerment. By giving the regions the right to express their identity through bottom-up autonomy, combined with the fair sharing of resources and a framework for political participation, more manageable and peaceful central-local relations can be realised within a democratic state.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Gerard Prinsen
Professor Bethan Greener