Religious Actors and Conflict Transformation in Southeast Asia : Indonesia and the Philippines

Drawing on a rich body of multimethod field research, this book examines the ways in which Indonesian and Philippine religious actors have fostered conflict resolution and under what conditions these efforts have been met with success or limited success.

The book addresses two central questions: In what ways, and to what extent, have post-conflict peacebuilding activities of Christian churches contributed to conflict transformation in Mindanao (Philippines) and Maluku (Indonesia)? And to what extent have these church-based efforts been affected by specific economic, political, or social contexts? Based on extensive fieldwork, the study operates with a nested, multi-dimensional, and multi-layered methodological concept which combines qualitative and quantitative methods. Major findings are that church-based peace activities do matter, that they have higher approval rates than state projects, and that they have fostered interreligious understanding.

Through innovative analysis, this book fills a lacuna in the study of ethno-religious conflicts. Informed by the novel Comparative Area Studies (CAS) approach, this book is strictly comparative, includes in-case and cross-case comparisons, and bridges disciplinary research with Area Studies. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of conflict and peacebuilding studies, interreligious dialogue, Southeast Asian Studies, and Asian Politics.

Jürgen Rüland is professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and speaker of the University of Freiburg’s Southeast Asian Studies Program. His research interests include cooperation and institution-building in international relations, globalization and regionalization, democratization, political, economic, social, and cultural change in Southeast Asia.

Christian von Lübke is professor of Southeast Asian Studies at HTWG Konstanz, Germany. His research on democratization, decentralization, socio-economic development, public reform, and the political economy of corruption draws on interdisciplinary perspectives.

Marcel M. Baumann is a former assistant professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His research focuses on conflict studies, with an emphasis on empirical and cross-disciplinary approaches. His areas of expertise include India, Indonesia (Java and the Moluccas), and the Philippines.