Sovereignty, the Successor State, and Universal Human Rights: History and the International Structuring of Acehnese Nationalism

Abstract

Most definitions of the nation emphasize notions like common sentiment, community, or collective identity. In Benedict Anderson's famous phrase, the nation is an "imagined political community," one that is "always conceived as a deep, historical comradeship."1 2 Anthony Smith defines the nation as "a named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members." He equates his conception with "a cultural and political bond, uniting in a single community all who share an historic culture and homeland."3 1 1 am thankful for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article by the late Herbert Feith, Aleksandar Pavkovic', Gregory Acciaioli, James Siegel, Marcus Mietzner, and Sidney Jones. Any errors remain my responsibility. This article will be incorporated in a volume to be edited by Vivienne Wee, tentatively entitled Political Fault-lines in Southeast Asia: Movements for Alternative Sovereignty in Nation-States, to be published by Routledge. 4 Liah Greenfield, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity (Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 1992), pp. 4-8. 5 Ernest Gellner, Nations and Nationalism (Oxford: Blackwell, 1983), p. 1. 6 This is not to deny that some recent movements which call themselves nationalist and claim forms of sovereignty (such as some movements of indigenous peoples in North America and Australasia) do not aspire to independent territorial states.

Terrorism in Southeast Asia: expert analysis, myopia and fantasy

“…See Gershman (2002) and Putzel (2003) in the context of discussions of terrorism, and McKenna (1998) on the historical roots of separatism in the southern Philippines. 4 GAM is a separatist group which has pitched its case for independence in terms of rights to national self-determination and human rights (see Aspinall 2002). Smith (2002) refutes the imputation of a significant 'Islamic' agenda onto GAM.…”

The demonstration effect: Natural resources, ethnonationalism and the Aceh conflict

“…His writings contain a process of articulation in which ideological elements – found in the United Nations and in the lived experience of Acehnese – come to cohere within a discourse that makes sense of the historical situation of the Acehnese (Li, 2000). Henceforth the ideology underlying GAM's struggle rested on the concept of decolonization borrowed from international law (Aspinall, 2002). Hasan Tiro described how ‘Acheh‐Sumatra’ had formed a separate colonial territory distinct from Java within the Netherland‐Indies and, thus, under international law, had the right to independence after the end of colonial rule (Kell, 1995: 62).…”

Studies of Massive, Collective Violence in Post-Soeharto Indonesia

“…In separate article reviews, Hefner (2008) and Aspinall (2008) Substantively, they are also state-centric, and they agree on the important role of the emotive and political meanings people invest in collective identities, and how these struggles are implicated in relations of power and acute competition over the state. Conflict, oftentimes in lethal forms, is highly anticipated, especially under conditions of social turbulence and political uncertainty.…”