West Papua

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the long running independence effort in West Papua, an example of the weak combative type of secession movement. It demonstrates what can happen to secessionism in weakly institutionalized settings. The chapter discusses the two dominant normative appeals: the primary one stresses human rights and the second common appeal focuses on decolonization. It also analyses how key features related to electoral politics and freedom of speech prevent the secessionist movement from attaining the level of political voice that one normally finds in a democratized setting. West Papua is integrated with the larger state and yet cannot engage in electoral capture. Unlike Bougainville, it faces a powerful military opponent whom it cannot dislodge from the territory nor fight to a standstill. By this context, the chapter documents the tactics of the secessionists in West Papua that evolved in relation to their inability to challenge the state militarily.