Displacement and Gentrification in Borneo – The Political Ecology of Indonesia's New Capital City
2024 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Borneo aims to address Jakarta’s challenges and promote an equitable economy across the nation. However, the discourse surrounding this move happens within elite circles, with characteristics of a technocratic, elitist decision-making process with minimal public participation. The development of IKN (The Capital City) Nusantara intertwines with complex political and economic dynamics and Borneo has long been subject to exploitation, leading to land conflicts and environmental destruction. Utilizing a political ecology and gentrification framework, this thesis explains power dynamics and displacement processes associated with the ongoing development. It uses discourse analysis and a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and open-ended questions with several stakeholders. From the data gathered and analyzed, the thesis finds that local people are marginalized and criminalized to speed up construction. Moreover, the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities from meaningful consultations led to eviction and displacement. The thesis also finds that the lack of an Indigenous Peoples Bill, which has been stalled for over 14 years, seems to indicate no interest in including them in the construction process. To conclude, these findings answer questions about who is being sacrificed and who are the beneficiaries of this mega project.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. , p. 47
Keywords [en]
Indonesia's New Capital, IKN (The Capital City) of Nusantara, Indigenous Peoples, Political Ecology, Displacement, Eviction, Gentrification
National Category
Political Science Sociology Other Humanities
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-536044OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-536044DiVA, id: diva2:1888499
Subject / course
Master's Thesis in Implementation Science, Transformational Learning and Sustainability
Supervisors
Examiners
2024-08-212024-08-132025-01-31Bibliographically approved