Article Per Year (5 Year)
p-Index From 2021 - 2026
0.23
P-Index
This Author published in this journals
All Journal Verity: Jurnal Ilmiah Hubungan Internasional (International Relations Journal)
Jonathan Christian
Independent Researcher, a graduate of International Relations from Universitas Katolik Parahyangan
Social Sciences

Published : 1 Documents Claim Missing Document
Claim Missing Document
Check
Articles

Found 1 Documents
Search

 1 
TOTALIZING SOVEREIGNTY: SECURITIZATION AND THE PARADOX OF STRONG STATE POWER IN PAPUA Jonathan Christian
Verity: Jurnal Ilmiah Hubungan Internasional (International Relations Journal) Vol. 18 No. 35 (2026): January - June
Publisher : Universitas Pelita Harapan

Show Abstract | Download Original | Original Source | Check in Google Scholar | DOI: 10.19166/verity.v18i35.10877

Abstract

This paper examines the paradox of Indonesia's approach to Papua. Decades of securitization and large-scale, state-led development—intended to ensure stability and integration—have instead deepened the conflict and created conditions of fragility they sought to eliminate. This argument is rooted in Indonesia's use of political securitization to defend its territorial integrity, has further heightened internal conflict and created new societal uncertainty. By synthesizing the logics of sovereignty, securitization theory, and strong-state theory, this paper introduces “totalization logic” to describe Jakarta’s approach, which limits space and imposes a top-down approach, despite the formal existence of autonomy mechanisms. Instead of being utilized as intended, this special autonomy law has been instrumentalized to centralize Indonesian policy and marginalize grassroots voices. Using qualitative methods, this study shows that the failed decentralization and Jakarta's central intervention have led to counterproductive outcomes and even produced international spillover effects, scrutinized by Melanesian regional bodies and United Nations human rights mechanisms and thus elevating what Jakarta treats as a domestic threat into international concern. The paper’s findings contribute to IR scholarship by showcasing securitization theory beyond the interstate realm, demonstrating how domestic political securitization logic generates insecurity rather than resolving it. The author also aims to show scholars and policymakers the limits of strong-state approaches to secessionist conflicts across Indonesia’s easternmost province and its relations to the transnational bond within the Melanesian region.
Co-Authors