Rooting from the lived experience of the Pasundan Peasant Union (SPP), this research investigates under which conditions land occupations after the fall of Suharto’s authoritarian regime in 1998 transitioned towards permanent settlements. The new political climate of democratization that followed the fall of Suharto witnessed an overwhelming resurgence of land occupation movements across Indonesia, reclaiming land that used to be controlled by state and private companies. These renewed peasant collectives signified a continuing counter-strategy against coercive state land confiscation during the New Order (1965-1998).
This builds on a research line that is the politics of land access, with special focus on the non-state public authorities sanctioning access to land and other natural resources.
This study attempts to contribute towards enriching the iteration of public authority to a more inclusive manner that also emphasizes the peasant class as a political force based on their collective power to wage social transformation and their ability to execute alternative ways of living beyond the narrow boundaries of state-centric recognition and legitimation.
- Funded by: BOF
- Time period: 2023-2028
- People Involved: Ananeza P. Aban (PhD researcher), Jeroen Adam (supervisor), Eduardo C. Tadem (co-supervisor, University of the Philippines)