Push and pull driven development in West Papua, Indonesia

The easternmost region of Indonesia, West Papua, has a long history of experimentations with governance and development, starting under the Netherlands and later under the Indonesian administration. Under the Dutch, development was used as a tool to decolonise West Papua and prepare Papuans for an independent state. Under Indonesian rule, development became an instrument of suppression and forced integration, eventually distancing many Papuans from the idea of Indonesian citizenship. More recently, Special Autonomy and administrative sub-division have been utilised by the government of Indonesia to deal with trauma, resentment and aspirations for independence. By constructing a development paradigm called push and pull-driven development, this thesis analyses the policy and development agenda carried out under the Dutch and the government of Indonesia. The key conclusions will then be used to formulate preliminary outlines of meaningful push and pull driven development, especially for the period after the end of the Special Autonomy Fund in 2021.