Settler Colonialism in New Guinea: Or Why Australia, not Indonesia, Set Papuans Free

Abstract

Juxtaposing the modern history of West Papua and Papua New Guinea forces us to confront an uncomfortable question: why did Indonesia and not Australia fulfil the colonisation of New Guinea? Or, put differently, why has Australia but not Indonesia set Papuans free? The standard answer to this question is ideology. Indonesia sees West Papua as a ‘core’ part of their nation-state, whereas the same was not true for Australia in PNG. This answer, however, is wrong, because it misunderstands the initial intentions of Australian officials in New Guinea. Just like Indonesia, Australia’s leaders initially saw New Guinea as an inalienable part of their new nation-state. And just like Indonesia, Australia’s leaders sought to secure control over New Guinea by settling large numbers of farmers there. Unlike in Indonesia, however, these efforts failed. To understand why Australia and not Indonesia ended up decolonising New Guinea, this In Brief, which draws upon a larger study (McNamee 2023), examines why Australia’s settler colonial project there failed whereas Indonesia’s succeeded.