Horizontal Inequalities, Ethnic Separatism, and Violent Conflict

Increasing academic attention is being paid to understanding the role of inter-group ‘horizontal’ inequalities in the emergence of violent conflict in developing countries (Østby 2003; Stewart 2000; Stewart 2002). The broad coincidence of cultural, ethnic or religious differences with severe economic, political or social inequalities, it is argued, can be a significant causal factor for violent conflict. Using the case study of the province of Aceh in Indonesia, this paper focuses attention on the relationship between inequality and a particular subset of violent conflicts: ethnic separatism.2 In examining the case of Aceh, this paper does not deny the important role of historical and other factors in explaining separatism, it merely seeks to draw attention to the particular dynamics of inequality in the province.