Finding Third ways? The dynamics of settlement on customary land conflict In Papua, Indonesia

This article examines alternative approaches to the resolution of customary land conflicts in Papua, which emerge as both private and communal disputes and are continually shaped by competing narratives of development. The study employs a constructivist approach, which views customary land not merely as a legal or economic asset but as a socially constructed space whose meaning is negotiated through interaction, authority relations, and historical experience. Within this framework, Antony Giddens’ Third Way is used as an analytical lens to move beyond the binary between state-driven developmentalism and rigid customary absolutism, by exploring the possibilities of negotiated accommodation among conflict stakeholders. Using an ethnographic research design, the study investigates the structure of knowledge, claims, and expectations among ondoafi (tribal chiefs), government actors, investors, and the younger generation of indigenous communities through in-depth interviews, and participant-observer engagement. The findings show that the governance of customary land conflict resolution in Papua is characterised by the complex interaction of four key stakeholder groups, whose interests and authority structures must be mediated rather than imposed. The Third Way approach enables a moderated re-definition of customary land for development purposes through participatory discourse, inclusive negotiation arenas, and systematic policy formulation.