Based on a historical assessment of conflict management interventions in the Philippines, Jeroen ... more Based on a historical assessment of conflict management interventions in the Philippines, Jeroen Adam argues that the establishment of hybrid institutions in peace building and post-conflict reconstruction has often followed an authoritarian rationale. It is therefore suggested that NGOs and practitioners carefully examine the democratic credentials of some of the hybrid institutions through which they work and critically interrogate untested assumptions about their supposedly socially legitimate qualities.
Mindanao – When 200 MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) fighters attempted to raise their flag ... more Mindanao – When 200 MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) fighters attempted to raise their flag of independence in the city hall of the city of Zamboanga on September 10, a standoff began which not only hit the headlines of the Philippine newspapers but also received considerable international attention. While this attempt was thwarted by the Philippine security forces, the MNLF fighters retreated into nearby neighborhoods.
Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 2019
Introduces the content of Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies , volume 34, num... more Introduces the content of Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies , volume 34, numbers 1-2 (2019), "Violence, Human Rights, and Democracy in the Philippines."
Reconciling Indonesia: grassroots agency for peace, 2009
... Record Details. Record ID, 860054. Record Type, bookChapter. Author, Jeroen Adam [80100180728... more ... Record Details. Record ID, 860054. Record Type, bookChapter. Author, Jeroen Adam [801001807287] - Ghent University Jeroen.Adam@UGent.be. Chapter Title, The problem of going home : land management, displacement and reconciliation in Ambon. ...
This article deals with the reorganization of food distribution networks in an urban context char... more This article deals with the reorganization of food distribution networks in an urban context characterized by high-intensity violence. This will be described through a case study on the Indonesian town of Ambon which was subject to an interreligious conflict from 1999 until 2002. First, it will be shown how a spatial restructuring of food distribution networks unfolded. Secondly, due to a dramatic economic decline ensuing from this conflict, major parts of the population were forced to revert to income generation strategies in informal economies. Therefore, selling in new petty food markets came to serve as the most important mechanisms to cope with increasing food insecurity.
Ethnology: An international journal of cultural and social anthropology, 2008
On the Indonesian island of Ambon, the revitalization of adat (customary land tenure) is shaped b... more On the Indonesian island of Ambon, the revitalization of adat (customary land tenure) is shaped by a post-conflict dynamic aiming to induce a reconciliation between distrustful Christians and Muslims. This resurgence of adat reflects how indigenous communities cope with spatial relocation resulting from interreligious violence. Resettled indigenous communities in Ambon can be termed “communities in exile,” as people express feelings of territorial alienation and wish to return to the home village where they possess genealogical ties to the land. The desire to return expresses an urge to instate a renewed and purified adat order, where segregation by religion has been overcome.
Abstract This article argues that the current attention on indigenous institutions, and the ‘loca... more Abstract This article argues that the current attention on indigenous institutions, and the ‘local’ more generally, in peace-building and conflict management bears similarities with colonial and post-colonial attempts at pacifying volatile borderlands. This will be illustrated through a historical case study of the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao, which has witnessed a recurring Muslim insurgency throughout different phases of its history. In an attempt to cope with these violent uprisings, both the American colonial authorities and the authoritarian Marcos regime, as well as a range of contemporary international NGOs, have endorsed traditional institutional avenues of informal mediation. The argument for the deployment of the local in state reconstruction and peace-building as propagated in current literature on hybrid peace should therefore be reframed as a reinvention of colonial governance techniques of indirect rule. It will hereby also be argued that the underlying rationale for this current deployment of local/traditional institutions of mediation and governance confirms and builds further upon a colonial framing of the non-Western other as incapable of modern, liberal democracy.
This paper elaborates on the concept of hybridity as deployed by The Asia Foundation (TAF)in thei... more This paper elaborates on the concept of hybridity as deployed by The Asia Foundation (TAF)in their conflict management interventions in the province of Lanao del Sur, the Philippines. This analysis starts from a critical reading of one specific Theory of Change (ToC) that has been formulated by The Asia Foundation under the UK Department for International Development Programme Partnership Arrangements (DfID PPA) Component 5 and is entitled: ‘Community-level efforts to improve local security in Mindanao’. Two broad research questions have been derived from this ToC. First, an empirical analysis of the ‘weak state and strong traditional authority’ hypothesis that underpins the formulation of this ToC and conflict management strategy. Second, the question of whether the institutions through which TAF is working can be understood as hybrid institutions, in the sense that they reflect an interaction of the formal and the informal. The paper is then concluded by relating these major empir...
In the past decade, a range of international and national NGOs have pointed to the need to comple... more In the past decade, a range of international and national NGOs have pointed to the need to complement national-level negotiations with a support for alternative, informal institutions of conflict management in order to reach a sustainable peace in the conflict-affected regions of Central and Western Mindanao. This argument is based on emerging insights into the multi-layered conflict ecology in the region and the fact that classic stat-ist diplomacy can only deal with this complexity to a limited extent. Based on an analysis of existing conflict management practices in the region, we would like to challenge some of the basic premises underlying this 'alternative' and informal approach. Our core argument is that in the case of Mindanao, assuming a rigid distinction between formal and informal actors and practices of conflict mediation is flawed and may actually be coun-terproductive, as it obscures how informal practices dominate purportedly formal mediation procedures. Moreo...
This paper is divided into three major parts. The first section provides an historic overview of ... more This paper is divided into three major parts. The first section provides an historic overview of the conflict in Mindanao and takes the view that this conflict is as much a history of integration as it is a history of confrontation. Large parts of the Muslim elite have always been reluctant to engage in open warfare and have been more interested in reinforcing their authority through an accommodation within the Philippine state. As a consequence, shortly after the eruption of violence in the early seventies, a process of continuous consultation has unfolded between the Philippine state and representatives of the main rebel movements in the region. As a result, violence between the MNLF/MILF and the Philippine state has largely been over the particular terms and conditions by which large sections of the Muslim population wish to integrate within this state and cannot be understood as a conflict solely in opposition to the state. The second section of the paper attempts to understand the role of violence and coercion in the local political economy. While the overall narrative of 'Muslim minority versus Philippine state' is still acknowledged as an important one, the paper illustrates how everyday violence in the region has some particular, heterogeneous and ambiguous characteristics. First of all, rebel commanders, although formally representing a main organisation such as the MILF or the MNLF, have considerable autonomy vis-à-vis their mother organisation. This implies that such rebel groups cannot be approached as tightly structured organisations and the authority they exert should be understood as a type of mediated authority which is exercised through these commanders. A second observation relates to the highly fluid nature of identity labels in the region. Elite constellations, necessary for preserving or obtaining control over the local political economy, transgress Christian versus Muslim, or MNLF versus MILF, dichotomies and different actors from different denominations become part of these alliances. It is in particular when these elite constellations are subject to change, as is often the case in the run-up to local elections, that violence tends to be prevalent. Lastly, the authors argue that in a region characterised by a high level of legal insecurity, the capacity for coercion becomes a vital asset in the creation of political legitimacy. This is obvious in the field of resource management which is characterised by low levels of tenure security and land titling. Within this context, the capacity for coercion becomes a central tool to guarantee secure access to a certain property rights regime.The final section of the paper thus addresses the implications for peacebuilding and conflict management by focusing on two case studies of land conflicts in the region.
Based on a historical assessment of conflict management interventions in the Philippines, Jeroen ... more Based on a historical assessment of conflict management interventions in the Philippines, Jeroen Adam argues that the establishment of hybrid institutions in peace building and post-conflict reconstruction has often followed an authoritarian rationale. It is therefore suggested that NGOs and practitioners carefully examine the democratic credentials of some of the hybrid institutions through which they work and critically interrogate untested assumptions about their supposedly socially legitimate qualities.
Mindanao – When 200 MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) fighters attempted to raise their flag ... more Mindanao – When 200 MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) fighters attempted to raise their flag of independence in the city hall of the city of Zamboanga on September 10, a standoff began which not only hit the headlines of the Philippine newspapers but also received considerable international attention. While this attempt was thwarted by the Philippine security forces, the MNLF fighters retreated into nearby neighborhoods.
Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 2019
Introduces the content of Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies , volume 34, num... more Introduces the content of Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies , volume 34, numbers 1-2 (2019), "Violence, Human Rights, and Democracy in the Philippines."
Reconciling Indonesia: grassroots agency for peace, 2009
... Record Details. Record ID, 860054. Record Type, bookChapter. Author, Jeroen Adam [80100180728... more ... Record Details. Record ID, 860054. Record Type, bookChapter. Author, Jeroen Adam [801001807287] - Ghent University Jeroen.Adam@UGent.be. Chapter Title, The problem of going home : land management, displacement and reconciliation in Ambon. ...
This article deals with the reorganization of food distribution networks in an urban context char... more This article deals with the reorganization of food distribution networks in an urban context characterized by high-intensity violence. This will be described through a case study on the Indonesian town of Ambon which was subject to an interreligious conflict from 1999 until 2002. First, it will be shown how a spatial restructuring of food distribution networks unfolded. Secondly, due to a dramatic economic decline ensuing from this conflict, major parts of the population were forced to revert to income generation strategies in informal economies. Therefore, selling in new petty food markets came to serve as the most important mechanisms to cope with increasing food insecurity.
Ethnology: An international journal of cultural and social anthropology, 2008
On the Indonesian island of Ambon, the revitalization of adat (customary land tenure) is shaped b... more On the Indonesian island of Ambon, the revitalization of adat (customary land tenure) is shaped by a post-conflict dynamic aiming to induce a reconciliation between distrustful Christians and Muslims. This resurgence of adat reflects how indigenous communities cope with spatial relocation resulting from interreligious violence. Resettled indigenous communities in Ambon can be termed “communities in exile,” as people express feelings of territorial alienation and wish to return to the home village where they possess genealogical ties to the land. The desire to return expresses an urge to instate a renewed and purified adat order, where segregation by religion has been overcome.
Abstract This article argues that the current attention on indigenous institutions, and the ‘loca... more Abstract This article argues that the current attention on indigenous institutions, and the ‘local’ more generally, in peace-building and conflict management bears similarities with colonial and post-colonial attempts at pacifying volatile borderlands. This will be illustrated through a historical case study of the Southern Philippine island of Mindanao, which has witnessed a recurring Muslim insurgency throughout different phases of its history. In an attempt to cope with these violent uprisings, both the American colonial authorities and the authoritarian Marcos regime, as well as a range of contemporary international NGOs, have endorsed traditional institutional avenues of informal mediation. The argument for the deployment of the local in state reconstruction and peace-building as propagated in current literature on hybrid peace should therefore be reframed as a reinvention of colonial governance techniques of indirect rule. It will hereby also be argued that the underlying rationale for this current deployment of local/traditional institutions of mediation and governance confirms and builds further upon a colonial framing of the non-Western other as incapable of modern, liberal democracy.
This paper elaborates on the concept of hybridity as deployed by The Asia Foundation (TAF)in thei... more This paper elaborates on the concept of hybridity as deployed by The Asia Foundation (TAF)in their conflict management interventions in the province of Lanao del Sur, the Philippines. This analysis starts from a critical reading of one specific Theory of Change (ToC) that has been formulated by The Asia Foundation under the UK Department for International Development Programme Partnership Arrangements (DfID PPA) Component 5 and is entitled: ‘Community-level efforts to improve local security in Mindanao’. Two broad research questions have been derived from this ToC. First, an empirical analysis of the ‘weak state and strong traditional authority’ hypothesis that underpins the formulation of this ToC and conflict management strategy. Second, the question of whether the institutions through which TAF is working can be understood as hybrid institutions, in the sense that they reflect an interaction of the formal and the informal. The paper is then concluded by relating these major empir...
In the past decade, a range of international and national NGOs have pointed to the need to comple... more In the past decade, a range of international and national NGOs have pointed to the need to complement national-level negotiations with a support for alternative, informal institutions of conflict management in order to reach a sustainable peace in the conflict-affected regions of Central and Western Mindanao. This argument is based on emerging insights into the multi-layered conflict ecology in the region and the fact that classic stat-ist diplomacy can only deal with this complexity to a limited extent. Based on an analysis of existing conflict management practices in the region, we would like to challenge some of the basic premises underlying this 'alternative' and informal approach. Our core argument is that in the case of Mindanao, assuming a rigid distinction between formal and informal actors and practices of conflict mediation is flawed and may actually be coun-terproductive, as it obscures how informal practices dominate purportedly formal mediation procedures. Moreo...
This paper is divided into three major parts. The first section provides an historic overview of ... more This paper is divided into three major parts. The first section provides an historic overview of the conflict in Mindanao and takes the view that this conflict is as much a history of integration as it is a history of confrontation. Large parts of the Muslim elite have always been reluctant to engage in open warfare and have been more interested in reinforcing their authority through an accommodation within the Philippine state. As a consequence, shortly after the eruption of violence in the early seventies, a process of continuous consultation has unfolded between the Philippine state and representatives of the main rebel movements in the region. As a result, violence between the MNLF/MILF and the Philippine state has largely been over the particular terms and conditions by which large sections of the Muslim population wish to integrate within this state and cannot be understood as a conflict solely in opposition to the state. The second section of the paper attempts to understand the role of violence and coercion in the local political economy. While the overall narrative of 'Muslim minority versus Philippine state' is still acknowledged as an important one, the paper illustrates how everyday violence in the region has some particular, heterogeneous and ambiguous characteristics. First of all, rebel commanders, although formally representing a main organisation such as the MILF or the MNLF, have considerable autonomy vis-à-vis their mother organisation. This implies that such rebel groups cannot be approached as tightly structured organisations and the authority they exert should be understood as a type of mediated authority which is exercised through these commanders. A second observation relates to the highly fluid nature of identity labels in the region. Elite constellations, necessary for preserving or obtaining control over the local political economy, transgress Christian versus Muslim, or MNLF versus MILF, dichotomies and different actors from different denominations become part of these alliances. It is in particular when these elite constellations are subject to change, as is often the case in the run-up to local elections, that violence tends to be prevalent. Lastly, the authors argue that in a region characterised by a high level of legal insecurity, the capacity for coercion becomes a vital asset in the creation of political legitimacy. This is obvious in the field of resource management which is characterised by low levels of tenure security and land titling. Within this context, the capacity for coercion becomes a central tool to guarantee secure access to a certain property rights regime.The final section of the paper thus addresses the implications for peacebuilding and conflict management by focusing on two case studies of land conflicts in the region.
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