This book offers an ethnographically informed critique of the hyper-politicised debate on the facilitation of irregularised migration for people seeking asylum between Indonesia and Australia. While state authorities decry such facilitation as "people smuggling" and push for its criminalisation, the book's focal points are the need for unsanctioned passages for people seeking asylum and the detrimental consequences of the criminalisation of "people smuggling" for both the facilitators and the people seeking asylum. Drawing on court verdicts and interviews with convicted facilitators and law enforcement officials in Indonesia, this book provides a unique and holistic picture of the causes, conditions, procedures and intricacies surrounding the facilitation of irregularised maritime journeys between Indonesia and Australia covering almost four decades. It scrutinises the micro-level operational and place-specific characteristics of people smuggling and the consequences of anti-people-smuggling policies in Indonesia and relates those consequences to changes in the macroenvironment, which include relevant legal, political, social and economic factors that determine the overarching conditions of irregularised mobility. Compared to other states in the Global North, Australia has claimed to be more "successful" with its comprehensive approach to eliminate unsanctioned migration at sea by combining punitive, communicative-reventive and interceptive measures. This book challenges key achievements and objectives in regard to criminalising the facilitation of irregularised migration by foregrounding the many negative side effects that have emanated from "stopping the boats". The book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of anthropology and sociology, law and criminology, Asia-Pacific Studies, Southeast Asian Studies and international migration.

The socio-political activities of the Acehnese diaspora, located mainly in Malaysia, Scandinavia, the USA and Australia, have been of fundamental importance to conflict and politics within Aceh. The intensity of the relations between the diaspora and the homeland was mainly determined by the conflict that afflicted the region between 1976 and 2005, and the resulting hardship was experienced by Acehnese both at home and abroad.

This book looks at more than thirty years of long-distance politics exercised by the Acehnese diaspora both during the conflict and beyond. It interprets the social, political and cultural aspects of the small-scale conflict in Aceh, as well as focusing on the external factors related to the Acehnese overseas and their impact on homeland politics. The book goes on to contribute to the argument that the Acehnese diaspora had a significant impact on those who remained in Aceh. By focusing on the triangular relationships between the homeland, the host countries and the Acehnese diaspora, the book draws attention to the exchange of people, ideas, and financial and material resources that has occurred. It is a useful contribution to Southeast Asian Politics and Diaspora Studies.

The socio-political activities of the Acehnese diaspora, located mainly in Malaysia, Scandinavia, the USA and Australia, have been of fundamental importance to conflict and politics within Aceh. The intensity of the relations between the diaspora and the homeland was mainly determined by the conflict that afflicted the region between 1976 and 2005, and the resulting hardship was experienced by Acehnese both at home and abroad. This book looks at more than thirty years of long-distance politics exercised by the Acehnese diaspora both during the conflict and beyond. It interprets the social, political and cultural aspects of the small-scale conflict in Aceh, as well as focusing on the external factors related to the Acehnese overseas and their impact on homeland politics. The book goes on to contribute to the argument that the Acehnese diaspora had a significant impact on those who remained in Aceh. By focusing on the triangular relationships between the homeland, the host countries and the Acehnese diaspora, the book draws attention to the exchange of people, ideas, and financial and material resources that has occurred. It is a useful contribution to Southeast Asian Politics and Diaspora Studies.

Troubled Transit considers the situation of asylum seekers stuck in limbo in Indonesia from a number of perspectives. It presents not only the narratives of many transit migrants but also the perceptions of Indonesian authorities and of representatives of international and non-government organizations responsible for the care of transiting asylum seekers. Fascinated by the extraordinary and seemingly limitless resilience shown by asylum seekers during their often lengthy and dangerous journeys, the author highlights one particular fragment of their journeys their time in Indonesia, which many expect to be the last stepping stone to a new life. While they long for their new life to unfold, most asylum seekers become embroiled in the complexities of living in transit. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is more than a location where people spend time waiting; it is a nation state that interacts with transiting asylum seekers and formulates policies that have a profound impact on their experience in transit there. Troubled Transit tries to explain the complexities faced by the transiting migrants within the context of the Indonesian government and its political challenges, including its relationship with Australia. The Australia-centric view of recent asylum seeker issues has tended to ignore the larger socio-political context of the migratory routes and the perspectives of transit states towards asylum seekers stuck in transit. This book hopes to direct the Australia-centric gaze northwards to take Indonesian policies and policymaking into account, thereby giving Indonesia more relevance as a transit country and as an important partner in regional protection schemes and migration management. Even though some Indonesian policies and practices are less than favourable for asylum seekers, and even reprehensible from a human rights perspective, more attention must be paid to ongoing developments that impact on transiting asylum seekers in Indonesia if any of the hardships they suffer there are to be alleviated.