Ethno-religious conflicts: rise or decline?: recent developments in Southeast Asia

The rise or decline of ethno-religious conflict in Southeast Asia will largely depend on the extent to which Indonesia, as the pivotal state in the region, is able to manage its own democratic transition. In the Indonesian case, the rise of ethno-religious conflict is inextricably linked to Indonesia|s chronic ongoing national crisis -- a crisis arising, in the main, from the weakness of the state and radical decentralization that is not working well. In Indonesia, as elsewhere in Southeast Asia, ethno-religious conflict has also been spurred by the conjunction of economic and social marginalization with significant demographic change. External factors (particularly that of Islam as a potent mobilizing force both within and beyond state borders) have also exacerbated such conflict