Author: Eleanor Kennedy, Endeavour Fellow

The Asia-Pacific region continues to grapple with ethnic based separatist conflicts. These conflicts strain regional relationships for two reasons. First, they frequently involve human rights abuses and minority discrimination, which provokes regional disquiet. Second, they demonstrate that the state that houses them is failing to peacefully incorporate all ethnic groups. This means that the ‘housing state’ is a potential source of regional instability.

One of the longest running ‘nation versus state’ conflicts in Asia is the conflict between the central government of Indonesia and the Papuan periphery. Read more…