Tolerance as Implicit Order: Militias and Sexual Violence as Practice in Indonesian Counterinsurgency Operations

Abstract

ABSTRACT What conditions precipitate militia-inflicted sexual violence during counterinsurgency operations? In our article, we expand on the sexual violence as practice framework by focusing on the issue of commander's tolerance as a form of implicit order. Specifically, we argue that militia-inflicted sexual violence is amplified by two interrelated conditions – the link to the government security forces and the autonomy permitted to the militias in conflict zones. Thus, we refine the logic of sexual violence as practice to understand the finer variations of militia-committed violence. We elaborate our explanations by analyzing Indonesia's peripheral operations in East Timor, Aceh and West Papua.