Products and Producers of Social and Political Change. Activism and Politicking in the Mentawai Archipelago is about a generation of young, formally educated and politically engaged Mentawaians.... Show moreProducts and Producers of Social and Political Change. Activism and Politicking in the Mentawai Archipelago is about a generation of young, formally educated and politically engaged Mentawaians. From the late 1990s onwards these people, whom I have called the Mentawaian elite, have been involved in a quest for more access to the resources of the local state. The introduction of decentralisation and regional autonomy has formed an important window of opportunity for the Mentawaian elite. Due to their intense lobby the Mentawai Archipelago became an independent district in 1999. Freed from decades of cultural, economic and political hegemony of the mainland oriented Minangkabau, the Mentawaians now saw themselves placed for the laborious task to built a new district from scratch. Divided over seven chapters, this thesis describes and discusses developments in anticipation of the new district as well as the intense politicking that characterised the first years of Reformation. This thesis offers an in-depth portrait of a generation of Mentawaians that is as much a product as well as a producer of social and political change. Show less
This research took place in South Sulawesi in order to investigate the implementation of jatropha projects in the period of 2006-2011. This research aims to understand the key factors that were... Show moreThis research took place in South Sulawesi in order to investigate the implementation of jatropha projects in the period of 2006-2011. This research aims to understand the key factors that were influential in the rise and fall of jatropha projects. The analysis was focused on jatropha actors’ motivations, strategies and experiences to understand what opportunities and benefits that were pursued by the involved actors and how the achievements of the opportunities and benefits redefine the failure of the projects. The findings were synthesized to draw a lesson learnt on what we can learn from the observed jatropha stories for the other miracle crops. Show less
