Hybrid seminar | Peasants and activists in contemporary Indonesia: For and against the market | Iqra Anugrah

Peasants and activists in contemporary Indonesia: For and against the market

This project investigates the trajectory of agrarian politics in post-authoritarian Indonesia (1998-2019). It asks the following question: why do Indonesian peasants and activists pursue different strategies in response to market expansion into rural areas? There is a popular assumption that peasants and agrarian activists will always react against market expansion. In this book project, I show that they will do so only under certain circumstances.

My overarching argument is this: the level of agrarian grievances and the ideational inspiration of agrarian movements explain the divergent strategies that organized peasants and agrarian activists choose in response to market expansion. These responses can be broadly categorized into two types. When the level of agrarian grievance is severe and the ideological orientation of local agrarian movements is populist, then local peasants and activists will challenge market expansion by decommodifying market relations through disruptive actions. Conversely, when the state of agrarian grievance is less severe and the ideological orientation of existing agrarian movements is reformist, then these local actors will choose to accommodate market relations and remedy the excesses of market expansion in non-confrontational manners. To substantiate this argument, I analyze national agrarian politics and four district case studies – North Bengkulu, Bulukumba, Serang, and Banyumas.

Speaker

Iqra Anugrah is an affiliated fellow at KITLV, an affiliated researcher at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University and a research associate at the Institute of Economic and Social Research, Education, and Information (LP3ES). He studies democracy, development, social movements, and political theory. His works have been published in Cornell University Press, PS: Political Science and Politics, and Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, among others. He works with Indonesian social movements and has received multiple grants and fellowships.

Moderator

David Kloos, senior researcher at KITLV.

Format

This webinar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV (room 1.68) and online via Zoom.
Date & time: Thursday 3 November, 15.30 h – 17.00 h CET.

Registration for participation on location and online

Registration is required. If you want to attend this webinar on location, please register via: [email protected].
Seats are limited.

If you wish to attend the webinar online, please register here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting via Zoom.

Photo

National Peasant Day Protest 2013. Photo credit: AGRA/FPR Bulukumba.