State-sponsored torture and peacebuilding encapsulate the essence of many of the current conflicts in Indonesia. Papua in particular provides a thought-provoking example of the intricacy and complexity of building peace amidst enduring conflict and violence. This book examines the complex power relations that have constructed the gruesome picture of the fifty-year practice of torture in Papua as well as the ongoing Papuan peacebuilding movements that resist the domineering power of the Indonesian state over Papuans. Conceptualising âtheatres of torture and peaceâ the book argues that torture in Papua is performed in public by the Indonesian state in order to communicate its policy of terror towards Papuans - it is not meant for extracting information gaining confessions or exacting punishment. A Torture Dataset is provided codifying evidence from a broad range of cases collected through sensitive interviews. In examining the data the author crafts a new more holistic framework for analyzing cases of torture and employs an interdisciplinary approach integrating three different theories: Foucaultâs theory of governmentality and sovereignty Kristevaâs theory of abjection and Metzâs theory of memoria passionis (the memory of suffering). The book successfully establishes a new understanding of torture as âpublic theatreâ and offers a new perspective of strengthening the existing Papuan peacebuilding framework of Papua Land of Peace. It will be of interest to academics working on Southeast Asian Studies Peace and Conflict Studies Transitional Justice Peacebuilding Human Rights and Anthropology of Violence. . Language: English