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Feature Article: The Role of Conflict Analysis in Building Peace in IndonesiaContributed by: Eugenia Piza-Lopez, UNDP Indonesia I. Conflict in Indonesia
While the levels of violence have been dramatically reduced after 2004, today Indonesia is in a state of negative peace. Many of the roots of conflict are still untouched: lack of security sector reform, un- and under-employment (in particular amongst young men), inequitable resource allocation and management (in particular related to land), the often predatory role of elites, inequitable processes of decision-making and corruption that, in many cases, has been devolved rather than addressed. While decentralization and democratization have provided opportunities for improving accountability and the delivery of services at the local level, they have also created an environment of flux where groups battle for power and resources in a climate of contested and changing rules. II. The Peace and Development Analysis
The initial proposal was to undertake a conflict analysis exercise to support the design of UNDP’s (and other donors) responses in 3 regions affected by conflict. However, a traditional approach to conflict analysis proved not to adequately capture the complexities of post-conflict dynamics in Indonesia. Thus, consultations with the many stakeholders and an assessment in all 3 regions lead to a radical shift in approach: a) from a conflict to a peace focus, b) from a project to a process focus and, c) towards creating mechanisms for peace and development dialogue as an outcome. The PDA is thus a dialogic and reconciliatory development-planning and programming approach, aimed not only at formulating a developmental response to post-conflict contexts, but as a tool to address the causes of violence and build sustainable peace. Given the multi-purpose needs of the exercise, the PDA contained four key elements: - Multi-stakeholder PDA Workshops in three provinces to facilitate stakeholder reflections on past experiences of conflict and peace and identify future priority strategic areas for action; III. The PDA process
- Designing a process useful for both participating stakeholders and UNDP; As a result, it was decided to design provincial workshops that: (a) addressed state-community engagement gaps and trust deficit; (b) shifted stakeholder attention from the past to the future; and (c) built common ground and ownership of the strategy ahead. In view of high levels of distrust, a decision was taken to convene primarily the peace and development constituency. Capacity development was seen by UNDP and CSPS as an empowering process where individuals learned from their own experiences, took a critical look at their own assumptions and were given tools to lead the process and facilitate follow-up. In this context, UNDP and CSPS developed a plan that provided comprehensive support throughout the project and bolstered the transfer of skills and knowledge: - Provision of technical assistance to and a mentoring programme for CSPS;
The implementation of the PDA process consisted of a series of district and provincial level workshops, held in Maluku, North Maluku and Central Sulawesi; a review of lessons learned and, the preparation and delivery of a national level seminar for decision makers. In total, 7 workshops were held over a year period with participation of an average of 120 people per workshop at sub-national level and 350 at national level. The PDA also provided resources to the local facilitating teams to design and kick implementation of follow up plans at national and sub-national levels. IV. Follow up and second generation of PDA Follow up to the PDA process has been varied, according to different provinces and the priorities of Bappenas at national level. However, efforts were made to ensure the PDA investment strategically positioned UNDP conflict prevention programming at provincial and national levels, both in operational and policy areas. Key activities include: - Socialization of Outcomes: A series of workshops and meetings in districts and sub-districts, dissemination of reports and use of local media to share the outcomes of the PDA process with a wider constituency. - Linking Outcomes to Programme Design: The outcomes of the PDA served as the main guidance for the design of a second phase of UNDP’s programming in Maluku, North Maluku and Central Sulawesi. The impact of the PDA in the planning process was significant:
V. Lessons Learned (see chart of lessons learned) The PDA process proved a powerful tool for peace building dialogue. In particular, the following lessons were learnt in the process of designing and implementing this initiative: Sensitivity and Support The PDA process benefited significantly from broad government and donor support. The need for conflict-sensitive planning was acknowledged and the necessary financial resources were allocated, while this investment proved critical for the success of the initiative. At the provincial and national levels, co-hosting arrangements were made, which added legitimacy to the process and ensured participation of key stakeholder groups. Relevance and timing Preparation was essential to understand stakeholder interests, positions and responses to the PDA process, as well as to determine how the PDA workshop process could contribute to conflict transformation. The fragility of the post-conflict environments in the Malukus and Central Sulawesi meant that any activity should contribute to prevent further violence and build trust amongst communal groups. Distrust and frustration In a context characterized by continued inter- or intra-religious violence, corruption in aid efforts and personal insecurity, overcoming distrust among different stakeholders proved challenging. Furthermore, there was much frustration associated both to limited progress in tackling the causes (e.g. unemployment, religious polarization) and the consequences (e.g. insecurity and IDPs) of the conflicts, as well as limited results from numerous workshops previously held. In view of high levels of distrust, a decision was taken early on in the design of the PDA to convene the peace and development constituency, as opposed to bringing together hardliner groups. Much time was spent on explaining the intended contribution of a PDA process to different stakeholder groups – and designing it to yield concrete (tangible and intangible) results. A number of bilateral consultations were also held with hardliner and radical groups to ensure that their perspectives were incorporated into the PDA workshops. Issues of trust also emerged in terms of the institutions engaged in the PDA process as partners. Although emphasis was placed on ensuring local ownership and capitalizing on local knowledge through participation by local groups, there was tension regarding levels of profile between national and local institutions (particularly civil society). This was further exacerbated by lack of clarity on roles and responsibilities as well as unrealistic expectations. Given the perceived lack of neutrality of local institutions in all three provinces, it was clear that a national-level agency would be required to facilitate this process. However, it would have been helpful for UNDP to play a more pro-active role in clarifying expectations and providing clearer inputs to project partners on the interface of the PDA initiative and other UNDP supported projects. Capacity development The capacity development and training of local facilitators took place over a six-month period. Through the many activities they were required to take part in, they acquired theoretical knowledge of PDA concepts and practical skills in mediation. They also came into contact with local actors and increased their competence in conflict-related work. More importantly, they developed skills to use in their home communities. Neutral conveners Establishing neutral grounds can be a challenge when numerous stakeholders are involved. Because of the ethnic and cultural diversity of Indonesia and the authoritarian nature of its political past history, finding a neutral convener was essential. In this context, academic institutions were generally perceived as more neutral. While CSPS was seen as a neutral force, concerns about being a “Javanese” institution still had to be addressed. Managing Elite Capture Local elites play a significant role in the continuation of conflict or the promotion of peace in most parts of Indonesia. The PDA process aimed to bring in all relevant stakeholders and not only those associated with particular groups. A key lesson here was how to manage and engage elites in a constructive manner while ensuring the processes remains inclusive. Links to Institutional Planning Cycles Whereas the relevance and timing of the PDA was appropriate, links with the institutional planning cycles of local government and overall UNDP were weaker. The initial focus of the PDA was the design of a new phase of programs for conflict areas and to feed into the priorities of the new government, particularly the plan for the first 100 days of SBY’s Presidency – and not necessarily to feed into local government or overall UNDP planning processes. A critical lesson from this initiative is the need to further link PDA processes to strategic planning cycles— whether local and national planning cycles or UNDP and UNDAF planning cycles. A key challenge in the implementation of the PDA was to balance the need for outcomes which were necessary for the design of a new programme framework and the ongoing dialogue process that is required for sustainable peace. Initial UNDP thinking was focused on the preparation of conflict sensitive strategies through a process of multi-stakeholder dialogue. While the PDA was not seen as a one-off project, insufficient thought went into follow-up activities, such as trust-building, enhancing co-ordination, creating common ground on future responses to conflict. Upon the realization that a follow-up would be required, UNDP set aside a budget per province to be managed by the PDA Facilitating team. As participants at PDA workshops had already identified several immediate next steps, the availability of funds helped to ensure that the momentum that had been created could be at least partly sustained. Managing contentions issues Critical and sensitive issues, usually of an ideological or political nature, often arose among workshop participants. At times, interventions were necessary to ensure that participants remained focused on the common agenda, that they looked for common ground and that they worked towards consensus building. Mainstreaming Gender The need to ensure the mainstreaming of gender throughout the PDA process was an issue that UNDP has to raise on an ongoing basis. While it was agreed that no lasting solution to conflict issues can ever be found without addressing the needs of all major stakeholders, including both men and women, in practice it was more difficult to ensure gender issues were taken into consideration. To safeguard this, UNDP put a series of requirements for the PDA implementation. For example, training equal number of men and women and providing skills to ensure women and other disadvantaged groups could be provided with appropriate spaces. Three strategies were used to ensure women had the space to present their viewpoints during the workshops. First, organizers ensured that at least thirty percent of the participants were women. Second, facilitators were given a series of techniques to bring in women’s voices and carefully managed those who “monopolized” the space and, thirdly, women’s organizations and representative of women’s bureaus were invited in their own right.
UNDP Indonesia Peace and Development Analysis Resource Pack, Annex UNDP Indonesia Overcoming Violent Conflict, Vol. 1, Peace and Development Analysis in West Kilimantan, Central Kilimantan and Madura
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Indonesia has a population of nearly 250 million people, from 300 different ethnic groups covering 3 time zones and more than 15,000 islands. The majority of the population is Muslim (approximately 85%) with a substantial and influential Christian and Hindu minorities. As Indonesia embarked on a wide-reaching process of political, social and economic reform following the fall of President Soeharto in 1998, the country experienced a peak in civil violence. Several provinces (Maluku, North Maluku, Central Sulawesi and West and Central Kalimantan) went trough devastating communal violence. Separatist conflict continued in the provinces of Aceh and Papua. A referendum leading to independence in East Timor unleashed a wave of destruction by pro-Indonesia militia. 
As a response to the above challenges, UNDP, in partnership with the National Planning Board (Bappenas), the Conflict Studies Centre of the University of Gadja Mada (CSPS), regional governments and other civil society organizations, initiated the Peace and Development Analysis Process (PDA). The process was aimed at creating safe spaces for dialogue where all relevant local stakeholders would arrive at a consensus on how to tackle key obstacles to peace and create strategic alliances to work together for the establishment sustainable peace. 
Preparatory Phase: This included the design of the PDA methodology, field consultations, the setting up of support structures, and the training of local facilitators. The need for a thorough preparation phase was recognized by UNDP from the onset, particularly the complexity of local conflict dynamics, the need to understand how a relatively sensitive dialogue process would be received, the presence of extremist groups and other spoilers, etc. As a result of in-depth consultations in the provinces, key pointers for the PDA process were identified, including:
Implementation: In order to achieve the PDA objectives, UNDP supported the setting up of the PDA Facilitating Team, a local committee made up of government, civil society and those groups engaged in the formal peace process. This group was instrumental in legitimizing the PDA at local level, identifying and agreeing on participants and developing follow up plans.