Attaining Power Through Spatial Territorialization: A case study of boundary making, conservation NGOs and legal activism in Aceh's Leuser Ecosystem

Abstract

Using the case of Aceh, Indonesia’s Leuser Ecosystem, this thesis examines ‘state’ territorialization in a neoliberal context as a process that increasingly involves non-state as well as state institutions. This will be exemplified through the lens of processes of territorialization “to argue for an understanding of state territorialization as a dynamic, negotiated, and historicallycontingent process that transpires through negotiations and interactions among state and non-state actors” (Corson, 2011: pp. 704-705). It explicates these dynamics by first taking a closer look into the historic ways in which different understandings of space have emerged, instilling ambiguous understandings of the ways that resources could be used within the province and within spatial boundaries falling inside of the province. This is followed by a discussion of these dynamics as they shift once again during Indonesia’s decentralization period, employing an analytic of transnational governmentality to demonstrate the work of conservation NGOs as it increases inside the Leuser Ecosystem. It will finish by giving an overview of power and authority inside the boundaries of the Leuser Ecosystem, using the case of Aceh’s Citizen Lawsuit Movement to demonstrate how the contesting parties to Aceh’s Spatial Plan negotiate authority over the space in question. Challenging traditional notions of the state as central to societal organization and authority, this thesis will ultimately contribute to the academic literature on governance and state formation, exemplifying the role of non-state actors as they influence policy and create understandings of space and what can be done inside of it.