Ethnic Conflict and Politics

Abstract

This chapter attempts to analyse the causes of conflict between the Dayaks and Madurese by incorporating some new approaches and identify the connections between ethnic conflict and ethnic politics. A peculiarity of many ethnic conflicts in West Kalimantan up to 1997 was that they always involved Dayaks and Madurese. Conflicts between them had occurred more than ten times since the 1950s. The chapter demonstrates that historical, marginalization and cultural factors have been important underlying factors in hostilities between Madurese and Dayaks. The concentrations of the Madurese, particularly in the conflict-ridden regions, made their relations even worse. Many Dayaks and Malays who lived near the aggressive Madurese felt insecure and intimidated. The Madurese share in the total economic workforce was small compared to that of the other main ethnic groups.Keywords: Dayaks; ethnic conflict; ethnic politics; Madurese population; Malays