Community-Based Conflict Governance and Social Resilience in Rural Indonesia: The Role of Indigenous Institutions and Participatory Dialogue in Sustaining Village Cohesion

Abstract

This study examines how community-based conflict governance strengthens social resilience and sustains village cohesion amid latent social conflict in rural Indonesia. It focuses on tensions arising from competing interests and perceptions of inequities in village development, social assistance distribution, and local government policies, while examining the roles of indigenous institutions, social capital, participatory dialogue, and community actors. A qualitative case study with an embedded multi-actor design was conducted in Gah Village, Tutuk Tolu District, Eastern Seram Regency, Maluku, Indonesia, treated as an instrumental case. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation of village deliberations, customary and religious activities, collective work, and intergroup interactions, and analyzed thematically across the perspectives of village officials, customary and religious leaders, community leaders, youth, women, and residents. The findings indicate that conflict remains predominantly latent and does not escalate into destructive confrontation because participatory dialogue, locally legitimate institutions, multi-actor mediation, and social capital operate as interconnected governance mechanisms. Social capital does not eliminate conflict; rather, it reshapes its trajectory from tension toward dialogue, negotiation, accommodation, and cohesion. The study contributes a community-based conflict governance framework integrating latent conflict, indigenous institutions, participatory dialogue, social capital, and social resilience for sustainable rural development.