Fruits of the Orchard: Land, Space, and State in Kepulauan Riau

What gives somebody a right over land? Drawing on recent re-theorizations of "space", this paper ethnographically dissects a dispute over the illegal settling of an abandoned orchard in the Indonesian province of Kepulauan Riau. It demonstrates how parallel "rights", "duties", and claims of "belonging" can emerge from the multiple webs of social relationships in which land is enmeshed. Local incarnations of the state are similarly embroiled in these parallel social and spatial networks, fracturing the authority of the state as arbiter. The case thus offers fresh perspectives on land rights, spatiality, and the state in both Indonesia and social theory.