From Manila looking south: elite perceptions of the Mindanao problem

What ails the Muslim insurgency of the southern Philippines, the so-called Mindanao problem? Why has its supreme goal of achieving an independent Islamic state-the envisaged Bangsamoro Republik-to one day resemble a wealthy resource-rich Muslim polity like Brunei been so elusive? Like other conflicts involving Muslim ethnic groups (e.g., Sudan, Palestine and Afghanistan), the Bangsamoro Rebellion is layered, intractable and constantly evolving. A sub-autonomous administrative entity of the archipelagic Philippine Republic, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM or Muslim Mindanao) consistently rates as its poorest and most corrupt region. Given the presence of al-Qa 'ida and Jemaah lslamiyya operatives in its ungoverned spaces after 9/11, Muslim southern Mindanao was elevated to the "second front" in the global war on terror after commencement of the Afghanistan campaign late in 2001. The Mindanao problem, or Bangsamoro aspiration, is steeped in the search for identity, territory and legitimacy. Based on extended field research with elite informants, this area study combines the tools and insights of anthropology, history, and political science in its examination of the decades-old struggle. Throughout this work, elite voices are employed to explore, explain and interpret the armed rebellion. Primary consideration, however, is given to the deleterious role of Muslim elite disunity, especially in terms of its asymmetric patterns of collaboration and opposition with the central government in Manila and to other external forces, in addressing why Muslim ethno-nationalist resistance against the Republic of the Philippines is seemingly never-ending