At the Edges of States : Dynamics of State Formation in the Indonesian Borderlands

Michael Eilenberg

ISBN 10: 9067183741 / ISBN 13: 9789067183741

Published by Brill Jan 2012, 2012

Neuware - Set in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, this study explores the shifting relationships between border communities and the state along the political border with East Malaysia. The book rests on the premise that remote border regions offer an exciting study arena that can tell us important things about how marginal citizens relate to their nation-state. The basic assumption is that central state authority in the Indonesian borderlands has never been absolute, but waxes and wanes, and state rules and laws are always up for local interpretation and negotiation. In its role as key symbol of state sovereignty, the borderland has become a place were central state authorities are often most eager to govern and exercise power. But as illustrated, the borderland is also a place were state authority is most likely to be challenged, questioned and manipulated as border communities often have multiple loyalties that transcend state borders and contradict imaginations of the state as guardians of national sovereignty and citizenship. Seller Inventory # 9789067183741

Synopsis:

Set in West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, this study explores the shifting relationships between border communities and the state along the political border with East Malaysia. The book rests on the premise that remote border regions offer an exciting study arena that can tell us important things about how marginal citizens relate to their nation-state.
The basic assumption is that central state authority in the Indonesian borderlands has never been absolute, but waxes and wanes, and state rules and laws are always up for local interpretation and negotiation. In its role as key symbol of state sovereignty, the borderland has become a place were central state authorities are often most eager to govern and exercise power. But as illustrated, the borderland is also a place were state authority is most likely to be challenged, questioned and manipulated as border communities often have multiple loyalties that transcend state borders and contradict imaginations of the state as guardians of national sovereignty and citizenship.

About the Author: Michael Eilenberg (1975) is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Aarhus University. His research focuses on issues of state formation, sovereignty, and agrarian expansion in frontier regions of Southeast Asia.

Bibliographic Details

Title: At the Edges of States : Dynamics of State ...
Publisher: Brill Jan 2012
Publication Date: 2012
Binding: Taschenbuch
Condition: Neu