Local Conflict and Development Projects in Indonesia : Part of the Problem or Part of a Solution?

Drawing on an integrated mixed methods
research design, the authors explore the dynamics of the
development-conflict nexus in rural Indonesia, and the
specific role of development projects in shaping the nature,
extent, and trajectories of "everyday" conflicts.
They find that projects that give inadequate attention to
dispute resolution mechanisms in many cases stimulate local
conflict, either through the injection of development
resources themselves or less directly by exacerbating
preexisting tensions in target communities. But projects
that have explicit and accessible procedures for managing
disputes arising from the development process are much less
likely to lead to violent outcomes. The authors argue that
such projects are more successful in addressing
project-related conflicts because they establish direct
procedures (such as forums, facilitators, and complaints
mechanisms) for dealing with tensions as they arise. These
direct mechanisms are less successful in addressing broader
social tensions elicited by, or external to, the development
process, though program mechanisms can ameliorate conflict
indirectly through changing norms and networks of interaction.