Civil Society and Grassroots Organizations in Supporting the Livelihood and Social Reintegration of Former Terrorists in East Java

Despite the growing emphasis on deradicalization programs, existing studies remain predominantly state-centric, with limited empirical attention to the role of civil society and grassroots actors in post-release reintegration. This study examines how community-based actors contribute to the social and economic reintegration of former terrorist offenders in East Java, Indonesia, by distinguishing between the structural role of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the relational role of grassroots actors. Using a qualitative field research design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with fifteen key informants, including former terrorist offenders, civil society representatives, grassroots organizers, and community stakeholders, complemented by observation and document analysis. The findings, grounded in empirical field data, show that most of the informants (11 out of 15) identified economic support as the primary entry point for reintegration, while nine informants emphasized social acceptance as essential for long-term sustainability. The study reveals that CSOs primarily operate through structural mechanisms, including entrepreneurial mentoring, skills development, and access to financial resources. In contrast, grassroots actors facilitate reintegration through relational mechanisms such as trust-building, stigma reduction, and everyday social interaction. These interactions enable former terrorist offenders to reconstruct non-violent identities, regain social legitimacy, and strengthen their long-term self-reliance within local communities. The findings further demonstrate that sustainable reintegration depends not only on ideological disengagement but on the interaction between structural support and relational acceptance within a supportive social ecosystem. By offering an empirically grounded community-based reintegration model, this study contributes to reintegration scholarship by moving beyond dominant state-centric approaches and providing practical insights for strengthening post-deradicalization strategies in Indonesia and comparable contexts.