Promoting National Identity through Wartime Service Provision? Evidence from Aceh, Indonesia

In civil war, state actors provide public services to civilians to win their “hearts and minds.” Wartime public service provision should help the state obtain popular support and expand the pro-state population because of the civilian demand for development and order in the locality. However, the provision of certain types of public services can be counterproductive in a context where rebels are struggling for separation. Examining novel survey data collected in Aceh, Indonesia, we find that civilians’ wartime experiences of receiving stateled education and security services significantly diminished their sense of belonging to the state in the post-war period, although these negative effects can be alleviated if civilians receive a substantial number of additional meaningful services. The wartime provision of public services is not always perceived as positive by the recipients and may give the impression that the state is exercising coercive power over civilians in peripheral regions.