This thesis examines the 1999–2003 case of political conflict in Ambon, in Eastern Indonesia, in the context of political change in Indonesia from 1950-1998. It is argued that political transformation during this period was closely influenced by a much longer period of unprecedented social change preceding the politics of this period. It is suggested that the ideologisation of ethnic identities is likely to occur when structures of community are disrupted by changes in the contemporary world such as economic fluctuations or state policy interventions. One result is to disrupt traditional village communities so as to place individuals in stress situations making them susceptible to new nationalist ideologies. The other impact is to dislocate authority structures so that both incumbent and aspiring elites lose their power and authority and thus search for new ways in order to re-establish their moral and political legitimacy. It is argued that nationalism is able to offer a resolution to social disruption and thus to the community in search of social cohesion, while also functioning to rebuild elite authority. In ethnic nationalist ideology, insecurities and feelings of isolation are ameliorated by subsequent constructions of ‘us’ and ‘them’ where members of one distinct community are demarcated from other communities. It is suggested that myths of ancestry and homeland together with counterposed moral dichotomies appealed to the Ambonese who needed this form of ideological support. It is the insecurities and fear experienced by disrupted communities which promote this powerful ideological formula. It is asserted that conflict on the island has been characterised by this trend towards ideological absolutism where two conflicting ideological constructions have translated the conflict into a non-negotiable confrontation between opposing national rights. It is argued that these two ideological constructions have remained internalised on the island and embedded within the mindsets of both Ambonese Christians and Muslims, thereby rendering setbacks to conflict resolution.

This thesis aims to contribute to the knowledge gap on religious peacebuilding. Previous research on the role of religion has, to a large extent, focused on its destructive potential as a cause of conflict and religious strife. At the same time, there are examples of when religious actors have drawn from religious values to promote peace and reconciliation between conflicting parties. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to explore in what ways religious peacebuilding promotes conflict transformation between different religious groups during intra-state conflict. By further examining the methods and initiatives used by local religious actors at the grassroots in the Moluccas in Indonesia, the thesis aims to analyze the effects on the peace process. The research method for the study is an instrumental case study analysis, and the thesis applies a combination of two theoretical frameworks focusing on conflict transformation and success factors linked to religious peacebuilding to analyze the empirical material. The results suggest that religious actors used a wide range of methods and initiatives for peacebuilding in the Moluccas, and they made significant contributions to the de-escalation of conflict and opportunities for building sustainable peace. Through the lens of the theoretical framework, it is possible to acknowledge that the methods and initiatives clearly relate to explanations linked to conflict transformation, as well as success factors in religious peacebuilding. The thesis concludes that religious peacebuilding was essential for the peace process in the Moluccas, and that local religious actors showed great capacity in constructively using religion to build peace.

Den våldsamma konflikten på Moluckerna (1999-2002) porträtteras ibland i termer av motsättningar mellan kristna och muslimer. Denna studie problematiserar den bilden genom att analysera flera konfliktfaktorer som belyses ur två perspektiv.Det första syftet med denna studie var att jämföra tidigare forskning gällande konfliktfaktorer i Moluckerna med lokala ungdomars perception. Det finns en forskningslucka rörande ungdomarnas upplevelser av konflikten, vilket denna studie syftar till att överbrygga. Ett andra syfte var att analysera diskrepansen mellan den akademiska litteraturen och ungdomarnas underifrånperspektiv.Det avslutande syftet var att applicera teorin om kollektiv skuldkänsla för att förklara och analysera ungdomarnas minnen och uppfattningar om konfliktfaktorerna i Moluckerna. En kvalitativ fallstudieansats har valts eftersom den kan inkludera både djupintervjuer och en litteraturgenomgång. Sex djupintervjuer genomfördes i Indonesien som utforskade ungdomarnas uppfattningar. Den källkritiskt granskade litteraturgenomgången användes för att erhålla data från sekundärkällor angående samma konfliktfaktorer, som undersöktes I samband med intervjuerna.Den första delen av analysen visade att det finns en diskrepans mellan de två perspektiven när det gäller några av konfliktfaktorerna. Analysen av kollektiv skuldkänsla visade att ungdomarna bara upplevde en begränsad känsla av kollektiv skuld. Detta berodde på att alla strategier som minskar den kollektiva skuldkänslan var representerade i ungdomarnas uppfattningar. Den mest använda strategin var att beskylla några "svarta får", eller i detta fall, några provokatörer för skadan den egna gruppen orsakat den motsatta gruppen. / The violent conflict in the Moluccas (1999-2002) has occasionally been portrayed in terms of animosities between Christians and Muslims. This study problematizes that statement by analysing several conflict drivers seen through two perspectives.The first purpose of this study was to contrast previous research regarding conflict factors in the Moluccas to the perceptions of the local youths’. There is a research gap regarding the youths’ experiences of the conflict, which this study aims to bridge. A second purpose was to analyse discrepancy between the academic literature and the youths’ bottom-up perspective. The final purpose was to apply the theory of collective guilt to explain and analyse the youths’ memories and perceptions regarding the conflict factors in the Moluccas. A qualitative case study approach was adopted since it could include both in-depth interviews and an assessed literature review. Six in-depth interviews were conducted in Indonesia which explored the youth’s perceptions. The critically assessed literature review was used to obtain data from secondary sources regarding the same conflict factors, as was explored by the interviews.The first part of the analysis exposed a discrepancy between the two perspectives regarding some of the conflict factors. The collective guilt analysis found that the youths only seem to experience a rather limited feeling of collective guilt. This is because all strategies to reduce collective guilt were represented in the youths’ perceptions. The most used strategy was to blame a few ‘black sheep’, or in this context a few provocateurs for the harm inflicted by the in-group, towards the out-group.