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Vol. 8 No. 1 (2024): JUNE

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Governing the (Dis)Order: Toke and the Convergence of Artisanal Oil Mining and State Visibility in Sumur Baru

https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v8i1.26313
Vieronica Varbi Sununianti
Sociology Department, Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2797-9282
Arie Sujito
Sociology Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6004-6921
Heru Nugroho
Sociology Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7898-9245

Corresponding Author(s) : Vieronica Varbi Sununianti

vieronicavarbis@unsri.ac.id

Forest and Society, Vol. 8 No. 1 (2024): JUNE

Abstract

This article explores the question of why and how ‘illegal’ artisanal mining in the oil-rich region of Indonesia remains in place despite official bans by the central government. By taking a qualitative ethnographic study on the practice in Sumur Baru, Dusun Tue, a village in South Sumatra Province, our inquiry takes seriously the formation of resilient labor in daily encounters with state institutions. We employ a governmentality approach and show how quotidian interactions between state and community has legitimized practices of artisanal mining. Sites become relatively governable in conditions of continuous displacement through ongoing negotiations between intermediaries (Toke) with state agencies. This practice is made possible by the use of Sen Minyak or oil money that binds Toke as key representatives of the community with police and state apparatuses as disciplinary representatives of the governmental state. This study thus shows how an extractive regime emerges, shifts, and reshapes in the local political economic contexts of Indonesia’s decentralization era.

Keywords

Artisanal mining Displacement Dusun Tue Governmentality Labor Community Sen Minyak South Sumatra Police Toke
Sununianti, V. V. ., Sujito, A., & Nugroho, H. . (2024). Governing the (Dis)Order: Toke and the Convergence of Artisanal Oil Mining and State Visibility in Sumur Baru. Forest and Society, 8(1), 41-60. https://doi.org/10.24259/fs.v8i1.26313
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Author Biographies

Vieronica Varbi Sununianti, Sociology Department, Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang, Indonesia
Sociology Department, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Sriwijaya, South Sumatra, Indonesia
Arie Sujito, Sociology Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Arie Sujito, graduated from university (1997), master's degree (2004), doctoral degree (2015) with a dissertation entitled "Ideology and social base". His research interests include: political sociology; rural sociology; social movement studies. He is often involved in research at the UGM Center for Rural and Regional Studies, at the Institute for Research and Empowerment (IRE), and is active in civil society networks for democratization. Since 2021, he has been the head of the Social Research Center (Sorec) UGM; Secretary General of the Indonesian Sociological Association (ISI) 2019-2023, Vice Rector III for student affairs and alumni UGM (2022-2027). Recent book works: A Cup of Politics (2019); Political Milestones (2020); Siasati Covid (2021).
Heru Nugroho, Sociology Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Heru Nugroho started his academic career in 1983 when he earned his Bachelor's degree in Sociology at FISIPOL UGM. In 1986, Heru Nugroho received his Bachelor's degree in Sociology at FISIPOL UGM, in 1989 Heru Nugroho received his Master's degree in Population Studies, Interdisciplinary Study Program, Faculty of Graduate Studies, UGM and in 1993 Heru Nugroho received his Doctorate degree in Development Sociology from Fakultaet fuer Soziologie, Universitaet Bielefeld, Deutschland. Heru Nugroho's academic achievement culminated in the inauguration of his professorship in 2012. In the Department of Sociology, Heru Nugroho served as the Head of the Department of Sociology for one period. In addition to his career at the Department of Sociology, Heru Nugroho has also served in various positions and different agencies. Among them are the Founder & Director of the Institute for Research and Empowerment (IRE), Director of the Center for Critical Social Studies (CCSS), manager of the Sociology study program at S2 and S3 levels, manager of the Cultural and Media Studies study program at the UGM Postgraduate School. Heru Nugroho is also a member of several organizations and NGOs. Some of them are the Indonesian Sociological Association (ISI), International Sociological Association (ISA), Critical Studies Group "Bulaksumur School of Thought", and IRE.
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