Resilient Communities Non-Violence and Civilian Agency in Communal War

In Resilient Communities, Jana Krause focuses on civilian agency and mobilization 'from below' and explains violence and non-violence in communal wars. Drawing on extensive field research on ethno-religious conflicts in Ambon/Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia and Jos/Plateau State in central Nigeria, this book shows how civilians responded to local conflict dynamics very differently, evading, supporting, or collectively resisting armed groups. Combining evidence collected from more than 200 interviews with residents, community leaders, and former fighters, local scholarly work (in Indonesian), and local newspaper-based event data analysis, this book explains civilian mobilization, militia formation, and conflict escalation. The book's comparison of vulnerable mixed communities and (un)successful prevention efforts demonstrates how under courageous leadership resilient communities can emerge that adapt to changing conflict zones and collectively prevent killings. By developing the concepts of communal war and social resilience, Krause extends our understanding of local violence, (non-)escalation, and implications for prevention.

Introduction; 1. Communal war; 2. Resilient communities; 3. Fieldwork in the context of communal conflicts; 4. Indonesia: from gang fight to 'religious war' in Ambon, Maluku Province; 5. (Non)-violence and civilian agency in Ambon, Indonesia; 6. Nigeria: a deadly conflict cycle in Jos, Plateau State; 7. (Non)-violence and civilian agency in Jos, Nigeria; Conclusion.

Jana Krause is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.