8 th Euroseas conference Vienna, 11–14 August 2015

— Islamic Vigilantes in Indonesia: A Serious Threat or a Spent Force? 
Tomas Petru (Czech Academy of Sciences)
Quasi-official political vigilantism, often implemented by so-called thugs for hire, is a well-known and deeply rooted 
phenomenon is Indonesia. It has been in place as early as since the Soekarno era and reached its apex during Soeharto 
regime, when the state completely usurped the monopoly of power. After the downfall of Soeharto, liberalization of 
the political space followed and the state lost the total power grip. As a result of that, the gangsters-cum-vigilantes 
known as preman ceased to be agents of state and have become a power tool of competing interest groups. In recent 
years, these have been successful in gaining influence drawing on a new trend among the more sophisticated entities 
to affiliate themselves with strongly religious or ethnic identities. This has given them a degree of legitimacy and a 
new modus operandi. Thus, Indonesian civil society has been facing actions and threats from the well-organized and 
well-connected gangsters in Muslim robes such as the Islamic Defenders´ Front (FPI) or the ethnic-based Betawi 
Brotherhood´s Forum (FBR). On the other hand, after quite a few years of their operating in public space almost 
uncurbed under the rule of president Yudhoyono, the long-silent public attitude has started to change, for their ag-
gression against minorities has both exceeded tolerable limits and posed a clear threat to Indonesia´s pluralism and 
religious tolerance. Also, the shift in attitude might be reflecting on the change within Indonesian leadership, embod-
ied by the new president Joko Widodo, who is known to intentionally surround himself notable deputies and col-
leagues from non-Muslim and “non-pribumi” communities, paving a path for new politics. The question to be solved 

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therefore is whether this wave of pluralism stands a chance and can change things thoroughly or whether it is just 
short-lived effort which will be downtrodden by both conservatives and Islamic hardliners.
— Uncivil Society Organisations in Myanmar and Thailand
Wolfram Schaffar (University of Vienna)
Both, Thailand and Myanmar are going through processes of dramatic political, social 
and economic change. In Thailand, the split in society between two contesting camps, which have become known 
as the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts, goes back to the political unrest in 2005/2006. However, since late 2013 this 
political conflict is radicalising and culminated in the coup d’état in May 2014. During the recent events, groups 
which qualify as “uncivil society organisations” have started to play a crucial role in the political protests on the streets 
leading up to the coup as well as after the coup, such as the “Rubbish collection organization” which is performing 
witch-hunts against people they consider not loyal to the Monarchy. Moreover, numerous loosely or non-organised 
individuals have joined facebook groups and engage in bullying and mobbing other members in social media for the 
same reason. 
In Myanmar, radical Buddhist organisations like the 969-¬group are said to be the driving force behind violent attacks 
against Muslims in the cities of Meiktila, Mandalay and the Northern outskirts of Yangon in 2012 through 2014, by 
which several hundred people have been killed and thousands have become internal refugees. These attacks happened 
against the background of highly contested process of political change which was started in 2010 and which has the 
potential to change the power relations in the country fundamentally. It is a commonly heard rumour that the Bud-
dhist “uncivil society groups” are sponsored by influential circles of the military who want to bring the reform process 
to a halt. However, apart from these rumours, there are few studies of the right-wing Buddhist groups, which seem to 
enjoy tacit support of large circles of society. 
The paper will address theoretical and methodological questions in researching uncivil society groups in Thailand 
and Myanmar. Given the global rise of militant right-wing groups, Shiv Sena in India, Hungarian Guards and Golden 
Dawn in Europe, and many other examples, it is necessary to see uncivil society organisations in Thailand and Myan-
mar in a global context. However, in how far can established political theories drawing on radical right-¬wing groups 
in Europe of the 1930s (such as the Fascisti in Italy or the Heimwehr in Austria) be used to analyse uncivil society 
organisations in South East Asia today? 
Social movements research, for a long time, has concentrated on so called new social movements, NGOs and other 
civil society groups and organisations which were the predominant non-¬?state forces in the Western world from the 
late 1960s on. Only recently, the research programme of “contentious politics” was developed to move beyond the 
narrow focus of social movement research and envisage a longer time span as well as a broader political spectrum of 
political actors. In how far can this paradigm be used to capture new “uncivil society” organisations in Thailand and 
Myanmar? Lastly, given the xenophobic and anti-¬Western character, especially of the radical right-wing groups in 
Thailand, as well as the loose organisational structure of internet-¬based groups, what kind of research methods can 
be used to gain insight into these groups?
 
— Islamic Extremism in Indonesia: Past, Present and Future
Susanne Schröter (Goethe University Frankfurt) 
 
Islamic extremism has a long history in Indonesia, beginning with the Padri wars (1821-1837) that claimed the lives of 
a large part of the Acehnese elite. These were followed by the Aceh Wars (1873-1903) and other anticolonial uprisings 
legitimized as being perang sabil (‘holy war’). After independence, Islamist forces succeeded in gaining military con-
trol over West Java, South Sulawesi, and Aceh, and in establishing an Islamic State (Darul Islam), which in some places 
lasted until 1965, within the Indonesian State. During Suharto’s dictatorial rule, radical Islamic organizations became 
reduced to small clandestine cells. Immediately after the onset of democratization, however, they forcefully made their 
way into the public sphere, and provoked conditions that were akin to civil war in the eastern outer islands. Up to 
the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, the archipelago was shaken by Islamist attacks on churches, hotels, 
consulates, and tourist facilities; since then, both the frequency of attacks and the number of victims have steadily 
decreased. The forms of organization have undergone changes as well. Large, hierarchical groups such as Jemmah 
Islamiyah have been more or less replaced by small groups that act independently. A new challenge is posed by Abu 
Bakr al-Baghdadi’s IS which recruits followers in Indonesia too. Against the backdrop of the more recent history of 

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the Indonesian archipelago, the lecture addresses continuities and discontinuities of Islamic extremism, and inquires 
into the respective political and cultural contexts that either facilitate or curtail such extremism.
— A Not-So-Civil Civil Society Organization: The Case of the Aceh Transition Committee (KPA) in Indonesia
Gunnar Stange (Goethe University Frankfurt) 
In August 2005, the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed the so called Memoran-
dum of Understanding (MoU) in Helsinki, Finland. The peace agreement ended a protracted civil war in which GAM 
had aimed to secede the Province of Aceh from Indonesia. The armed conflict cost an estimated 30,000 lives between 
1976 and 2005. The agreement laid the foundation of a far reaching autonomy which also provided for the formation 
of local parties in Aceh. After several rounds of elections between 2006 and 2014 the local party Partai Aceh, the suc-
cessor organization of GAM, today is dominating provincial politics in Aceh. Accordingly, by the end of 2005, the 
military wing of GAM, Teuntara Neugara Acheh (TNA) had transformed into a ‘civil society organization’ called Aceh 
Transition Committee (KPA) which quickly developed both into an effective voters mobilization vehicle for Partai 
Aceh and a platform to organize the business interests of former TNA commanders, first and foremost in Aceh’s post-
tsunami and post-conflict physical reconstruction industry. The organization up until today functions along the old 
command chains and hierarchy of the TNA. It has been associated with well orchestrated intimidation strategies dur-
ing election campaigns, extortion practices as well as collusion practices with regard to public infrastructure projects. 
Against the backdrop of these practices and the inner workings of KPA, this paper argues that although it is classified 
as a civil society organization by Indonesian legal standards, it should by no means be understood as such. Rather, it 
should be described and analyzed as a “post-military organization” that is successfully capitalizing upon structures 
and practices that have developed during the time of armed conflict. The very existence of KPA and its strong grip on 
local power and business structures must be considered a major constraint in the further development of Aceh’s civil 
society landscape, especially in its rural areas were KPA is particularly powerful.
Panel: Inequality in Southeast Asia 
convener: Boike Rehbein (Humboldt University Berlin)
panel abstract
The panel deals with social inequality in Southeast Asia against the background of a new theoretical and methodologi-
cal framework to understand inequality. The framework was developed on the basis of joint comparative research in 
Asia, Europe and Latin America. Research conducted within the framework showed that the focus on economics, 
the distinction between developed and developing countries, the quantitative bias and a simplified notion of social 
structure impede the understanding of inequality. The alternative framework developed out of this insight focuses 
on the relation of the capitalist transformation to symbolic domination. The historical persistence and transforma-
tion of social structures is rendered invisible by a symbolic universe that is based on free-market liberalism. It can be 
made visible by qualitative research and historical work. The panelists outline the framework and then apply it to four 
Southeast Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar.
— Inequality in Southeast Asian Capitalisms 
Boike Rehbein (Humboldt University Berlin)
The paper aims at developing the core concepts of a new framework to interpret social inequality. The framework is 
outlined with reference to empirical research in Southeast Asia. The paper argues that the core mechanisms of the pro-
duction and reproduction of social inequality are the same in all societies, which have introduced a market economy. 
At the same time, the actual social structure, the configuration of social groups and the dynamics between them are 
specific for each society and have to be established empirically. This will be demonstrated by applying and specifying 
the core concepts to Southeast Asia. Brief mention will be made of the methodology, which consisted of a total of 
about 1,000 life-course interviews, surveys and multiple correspondence analysis.

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— History and Persistence of Inequality in Southeast Asia
Vincent Houben (Humbold University Berlin)
In line with the Eurocentric narrative of social change as the result of modernization as well as the idea that Southeast 
Asia is a world region historically constituted by forces from the outside, one would surmise that patterns of social 
inequality in this ‚area’ have changed dramatically over time. Yet, there also exists a historiography, which stresses a 
remarkable structural continuity of inequality, despite dramatic changes over time in the realm of politics, society and 
culture. How then can this (dis)continuity of social inequality be framed? By taking the concept of socioculture as 
point of departure, an attempt is made to extrapolate culturally as well as spatially specific inequality structures which 
persist over time. As a case-study Nusantara, the island part of Southeast Asia, in taken for making an argument in fa-
vor of a decentered, polycentric approach towards social inequality in line with middle range theoretical abstractions 
belonging to the field of ‚new area studies’. 
— Myanmar Migrant Workers and Inequality in Thailand 
Sirima Ussawarakha (Humboldt University Berlin)
Migrant workers from Myanmar constitute the largest population of workers working as unskilled labourers in Thai-
land. It is estimated that more than a million of Myanmar migrant workers reside in Thailand, particularly in indus-
trial fishery provinces, notably Samut Sakhon. Samut Sakhon is the province that mainly exports seafood products to 
the world market and gains huge profits to Thailand every year. Most factories, business sectors, and households in 
Samut Sakhon rely significantly on Myanmar workers for their intensive labour for processing various productivities. 
Migration to Samut Sakhon renders hope to countless Myanmar workers in order to improve their economic status 
and living conditions due to higher wages and facilities that exist more in Thailand than in Myanmar. However, nu-
merous Myanmar migrant workers find themselves disappointed as the competitive secondary job market leads many 
migrant workers to encounter various forms of inequality and difficulty. Not every migrant worker can successfully 
achieve their living and earning targets owing to the high competitiveness in a global economy, selective immigration 
policy, mafia groups in the local community, and personal limitations. With the intense ongoing situation of migrant 
workers in Thailand, the current presentation brings to light the case of Myanmar migrant workers in Samut Sakhon 
and illustrates inequalities they confront on a daily basis. The current presentation proposes that the inequalities 
confronted by Myanmar workers originate on several scales: inequalities are mutually generated and constructed 
by global, national, local and individual agencies. The presentation argues that characteristics of inequality towards 
Myanmar workers are dynamic and are aggravated to be more dynamic because of influences of transnational migra-
tion, generational and social structural changes as well as host country social conditions.
— Convert and Conquer? Ecotourism in Laos and the Social Power of Authenticity 
Michael Kleinod (Humbold University Berlin)
Against the background of the recent theoretical approach to social inequality by Rehbein and Souza (2014), the 
paper presents a synopsis of a dissertation project on ecotourism in Laos as a social force. It explores the manifold 
ways in which certain symbolic configurations, such as the conceptual dichotomies of nature vs. society and tradition 
vs. modernity, build upon, evolve through and result in relations of unequal social dependence. Logic and practice 
of sustainable development is epitomized by ecotourism among ethnic minority people around National Protected 
Areas in the Lao uplands. A glocal practice that “directly” links capitalist (“Western”) centers with the peripheries in 
a host-guest constellation and aiming at forest conservation, ecotourism effects a soft form of epistemic-institutional 
violence that converts Lao peasants into ecosystem servants as it re-integrates Westerners’ utopian search for authen-
ticity into capitalist consumerism. It is argued that romanticizing the local “community” and its “indigenousness” 
naturalizes and thereby legitimizes and reproduces marginalized social positions by tying people’s “culture” to the land 
that is at the same time appropriated. In the wider context of modernization in Laos, ecotourism is one social force 
in the twisted symbolic-material conversion of the “frontier” to the exploitative logic of, however “sustainable”, global 
capital accumulation.

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— Gender Inequality in Lao PDR
Champathong Phochanthilath (Humboldt University Berlin)
This paper aims to address the gender inequality perceptions in Laos. The country was transformed from central-
planned to market-oriented economy and it is currently in the pathway of enhancing the ASEAN Economic Com-
munity integration and mobilizing modern global development. The economic development has been dramatically 
changing and the GDP growth rate is increased significantly. Despite the economic growth, the number of self-eco-
nomic sufficient young female has increased in comparison to the previous generations. Many Lao women are able 
to study abroad, travel and access to the media; it has strongly impacted to the life pattern of women. However, social 
inequalities and the significant gaps between men and women as well as unequal status among women themselves 
remain in the society.
— The Dynamics of Inequality of Opportunities: The Vietnam Case
Nguyen Tran Lam (Oxfam Vietnam)
Since 1990s Vietnam has achieved impressive results in its socio-economic development, with GDP growth rate being 
averaged 6.13 per cent from 2000 to 2014. Following WTO accession in 2007 Vietnam attained Lower Middle Income 
Country status in the year 2010 and has recently achieved most of Millenium Development Goals. The country’s 
human development index (HDI) has risen from a low 0.476 in 1990 to middle category of 0.638 in 2013. GDP per 
capita has substantially increased from US$285 in 1985 to US$1,910 in 2013. Although the World Bank (2014) argues 
that Vietnam has achieved rapid growth with only modest increases in income inequality, another type of inequality- 
inequality of opportunities has become a greater concern. This paper is based on recent studies on inequality related 
themes conducted by Oxfam in Vietnam. We argue that inequality of opportunities is seen as the most worrying form 
of inequality in Vietnam, particularly among rural and poorer people. Ethnic minorities, poor children, small scale 
farmers, migrants, informal workers, and the near poor are those who suffer inequality of opportunities most and are 
those with the least voice and agency. These disadvantaged groups have severely limited space to advocate for their 
rights including access to information (legislations, services, markets), the participation in decision making process 
and political life as well as monitoring the implementations of laws and policies. Agency among these groups is rather 
limited thus hindering them from influencing decisions that shape their lives. It is also difficult for these groups to 
exercise collective voices. Such inequality in voice and power is rooted in tradition, culture and the country’s gover-
nance structure.
— The Global Challenges of Urban Inequality and Climate Change in a Global City: The Case of Jakarta
Marie Thynell (University of Gothenburg)
The city of Jakarta is an old trade centre that has developed into a thriving global city. In many ways development 
has been successful and, perhaps, Jakarta will become a prime centre in the twenty-first Asian Century. The insertion 
of Jakarta into the global flows of the economic world order strengthens linkages between the various levels (global, 
regional, national, local) and contribute to a unique mix of stakeholders and relations, also called ‘global cityness’. 
With the insertion into economic relations deepens inequality grows. The question is what motivates production of 
inequality in Jakarta? This paper explores how various traditional practices in policy and planning interact with social 
structures and contribute to inequality. Inequality has developed over the centuries and heterogeneous paths. Perhaps 
the least studied components having an impact on inequality are the environmental disasters. Another, newer aspect 
is the magnitude of the urban problems associated uneven global city development. The lack of local surveys and 
statistical information impede on a detailed study but current and general issues are presented. A ‘glocal window’ and 
assemblage approach is applied in this paper. It draws on development, globalization and city development research 
to explore the co-production of inequality. Urban modernization, governance practices, planning and policy, envi-
ronmental disasters have an impact on access to resources in Jakarta. They are part of the assemblage that highlights 
urban inequality and the fragile character of the global city. Finally, through the ‘glocal window’ a brutal reality is seen.

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— Indonesian Socio-Economic Disparities: Increasing or Decreasing? 
Hengky Kurniawan (VU University)
This paper examines the dynamics of socioeconomic disparities of provinces in Indonesia over time and analyses the 
factors that cause those disparities and their evolution. To measure economic development we use per capita gross 
regional product of 33 provinces from 1969-2012 and for the selected social indicators we use the Gini index from 
1976-2012, the net school enrolment ratio from 1996-2012, and the fertility rate from 1971-2012. 
For all indicators, we find that there is no single convergence group. Instead, the data clearly suggest that there ex-
ist multiple convergence groups. We arrive at this conclusion by applying the club convergence analysis developed 
by Phillip and Sul (2007). With this approach, we are able to identify the relative position of provinces over time by 
capturing the dynamics of the data and also allow for heterogeneity across provinces. The club convergence analysis 
reveals that we can classify the provinces in two clubs for all indicators. 
The results show that overall socio-economic changes in Indonesia have a different impact on different provinces. 
More specifically, the composition of the clubs differs across indicators, but some provinces consistently are part of 
high and low- performing clubs, respectively. We identify the provinces that catch up and those that fall behind. The 
observed dynamics can partly be attributed to changes in the governance in Indonesia, especially after two big events, 
viz. decentralization and democratization.
We conclude that the impact of the decentralization and democratization process leads to increasing inequality at the 
national level. This might be the effect of transition from a highly subsidized economy towards a more open market-
oriented economy. This suggests that there is an inequality of opportunity in Indonesia. When the market forces are 
enhanced, combined with decentralization, it creates two main effects: (i) the more productive workers or firms ben-
efit from increases competition, and (ii) rent-seeking by locals who gain power from the decentralization process. The 
actors who belong to none of these two groups are left behind. 
We also show that natural resources endowments and concentration of economic activities are important determi-
nants of spatial disparities. Natural resources endowments and agglomeration of economic activities differ in their 
distribution across provinces. Finally, we can relate the relative position of a province to its starting position for each 
indicator, and the per capita income also suggests the existence of so-called beta-convergence. Our findings are an 
important contribution to the debate of regional development in developing countries especially in Indonesia by pro-
viding an integral study of both interpersonal as well as inter-regional inequality.