Local Politics

The elections were tense in Aceh but in the end helped to consolidate the peace process

Activists in Palu remain confined to the political margins

Grassroots political operators hold the key to many candidates’ success

In Bali, it’s neither policy, parties nor entrenched elites, but image-savvy politicians and an all-powerful media that are dominating the new electoral landscape

Listening to the grassroots explain the 2009 general election in Bali

The people of East Timor are negotiating different conceptions of reconciliation in their daily lives

There are big dangers in declaring success too soon

Papuan footballers score goals against HIV.

New norms about love and marriage alter the rules for the young

Migrants from South Sulawesi have played an important role in manufacturing a Papuan identity

Political thugs and political Islam work together in Banten

A land conflict on the tourist island of Gili Trawangan dates back decades

Journalists strike after West Java’s most famous newspaper ‘withdraws’ poem.

Living with the Lapindo disaster

Tourism campaigns in East Kalimantan fall short of provincial middle class aspirations

In the aftermath of religious conflict, ethnic difference is becoming more prominent in Ambon

Direct local elections give Jakartans a say in their city’s future

How strong is local tradition in the face of the modern state?ARIANNE VAN DER MEER attends a ceremony in Sumatra's Minangkabau area, famous for its matrilineal culture. She finds that the cultural symbols do survive. But they are now also tools in the hands of the central government.

Last December, candidates affiliated to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM ) swept to power in local government elections in Aceh. They now face great challenges in meeting the high expectations of their supporters and dealing with incipient corruption in their own ranks.