Peluso Bellagio Paper.doc

This research paper by Nancy Peluso explores the complex relationship between the decentralization of resource management and violence in Indonesia. Using the forest and land sectors as primary examples, Peluso argues that decentralization often shifts the locus of power to local elites who may use violence to secure resource control, while the legacy of the repressive Suharto regime has normalized violent conflict and weakened the state's capacity to enforce law and order.

• Decentralization in Indonesia has frequently shifted power from central authorities to local elites who may employ violence to establish new power structures and secure wealth. In some instances, ethnic identities are strategically manipulated as a 'smoke screen' to justify violent resource appropriation.
• The author contends that violent conflict is more likely to occur in areas of resource abundance rather than scarcity, challenging common political science arguments. In Indonesia, the high stakes associated with abundant resources like timber increase the potential for violence during decentralization.
• Violence in Indonesia has become 'normalized' across government, quasi-government, and non-government sectors. This includes 'horizontal' conflict between local groups and the rise of a 'preman society' where thugs and gangsters are used by various actors to enforce land evictions or mass murder.
• The Indonesian security forces (military and police) are deeply implicated in the illegal extraction of resources. The military is formally expected to raise approximately 50% of its own budget through entrepreneurial activities, including legal and illegal logging.
• In the district of Kotawaringin Timur, decentralization led to a 'nightmare' scenario where illegal logging provided more revenue than legal logging, oil palm development, or gold mining combined. Local officials effectively taxed illegal timber rather than preventing its extraction.
• The legacy of the Suharto regime, characterized by systematic resource theft and repression, created structural conditions—such as the clearing of forests for transmigration—that fueled subsequent horizontal conflicts between indigenous people and migrants.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Peluso Bellagio Paper.doc. http://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/eaa_decent_peluso.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Peluso Bellagio Paper.doc. n.d. http://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/eaa_decent_peluso.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Peluso Bellagio Paper.doc |url=http://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/eaa_decent_peluso.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendpeluso, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Peluso Bellagio Paper.doc}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {http://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/pdf/eaa_decent_peluso.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }