Exposing Study on Secessionism in Indonesia

The purpose of this paper is to systematically explore literatures on secessionism in indonesia. the archipelagic country is well known for having a long history of dealing with the problem of secessionism. with the perennial problem of secessionism coupled with ethnic and religious conflicts erupting in many parts of the country, particularly during the 2000s, some observers even wondered whether indonesia would be able to survive and to maintain its unity. despite a considerable analysis has been given to the problem, at present, none of works has paid attention to draw a map regarding the landscape of the study. as a result, we know little about the nature of study on secession in indonesia. this paucity is strange particularly when one considers that an exploration on the issue is important to help observers to find the gap within the recent researches. this paper finds a review of relevant literatures on the topic in general can be summed up into three groups based on their analysis units: secessionist groups, the state, and international community or foreign powers. the first cluster of researches focuses on secessionist movements such as their tactics and strategies as well as organizational structure. the second cluster discusses state’s counter-policies against secessionists. the third cluster explores the roles as well as the impacts of external actors or foreign powers in secessionist conflicts.