At the Edges of States: Dynamics of State Formation in the Indonesian Borderlands (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9789067183741)

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.

Author: Michael Eilenberg
ISBN-10: 9067183741
ISBN-13: 9789067183741
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 01/01/2012
Pages: 356
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.77d