Civic Associations in Maluku, Indonesia Explaining the Failure of the South Maluku Republic Movement

Editors’ Introduction: While civic associations mattered for cross-cutting mobilization in Timor-Leste, Bali, and even North Myanmar, in this chapter we will how these same associations impeded the development of a larger regional identity in South Maluku. While Ambonese elites tried to mobilize along a common ethnicity, efforts failed to materialize. This was because of the structure of quotidian institutions and related practices. Specifically, a salient religious cleavage meant that overtures by the Christians to the Muslims were insufficient. The religious differences, as a result, would undermine regional efforts for independence (1950–62).