the will to improve the will to improve Governmentality, Development, and the Practice of Politics tania murray li Duke University Press ≤ Durham & London 2007 ∫ 2007 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper $ Designed by Katy Clove Typeset in Scala by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book. contents List of Acronyms vii Glossary of Indonesian Terms ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: The Will to Improve 1 ∞ Contradictory Positions 31 ≤ Projects, Practices, and E√ects 61 ≥ Formations of Capital and Identity 96 ∂ Rendering Technical? 123 ∑ Politics in Contention 156 ∏ Provocation and Reversal 192 π Development in the Age of Neoliberalism 230 Conclusion 270 Notes 285 Bibliography 337 Index 367 list of acronyms adb Asian Development Bank app Asia Pulp and Paper cca Community Conservation Agreement hrw Human Rights Watch kdp Kecamatan (subdistrict) Development Project kpa Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria (Consortium for Agrarian Reform) nei Netherlands East Indies ngo Non-governmental organization pra Participatory Rural Appraisal spada Support for Poor and Disadvantaged Areas Project storma Stability of Rainforest Margins tnc The Nature Conservancy undp United Nations Development Program usaid United States Agency for International Development voc Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (Netherlands East Indies Company) walhi Wahana Lingkunan Hidup Indonesia (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) ytm Yayasan Tanah Merdeka (Free Land Foundation) glossary of indonesian terms Adat Custom Akte Jual-Beli Record of sale and purchase Damar Resin used in the production of varnish Masyarakat adat Customary community, translation of indigenous people Masyarakat terasing Isolated and estranged community Petrus Contraction of penembakan misterius, mysterious shooting Provokasi Provocation Reformasi Reform period following the resignation of Suharto in 1998 Sawah Irrigated wet rice field