Lynching, Public Violence, and the Internet in Indonesia
In this chapter, Laurens Bakker argues that brutal, extralegal violence against individuals or small groups considered as a threat to local society has a long and varied history in Indonesia. Its usage includes extrajudicial killings and mutilations of thieves and other wrongdoers by local communities as well as a more sophisticated application of such violence by local power holders aimed at inspiring fear and obeisance in the population. Bakker argues that Indonesia’s recent transition from a nation ruled by a dictatorial central regime, which made ample use of violence to maintain its grip, to a democracy, in which the role of government power is considerably more regulated, has seen the “regime of fear” strategy also successfully make this transition.