ABSTRACT
Depending on one's history, geography, ethnic-religious makeup, strategic underpinnings, and relations with other political entities, different factors will interplay differently in bringing about a sense of nationhood and statehood. In order to understand the political anatomy of Papua and how it has come to be perceived by Papuans, Indonesians and others, it is necessary to understand its strategic, political, economic and social-cultural attributes. Geographically, Papua is the eastern most and largest province of Indonesia, covering the western half of the world's second largest island after Greenland. Despite being the fourth richest province in Indonesia after East Kalimantan, Jakarta, and Riau, the economy of Papua is still dominated by primary industries and majority of the population continues to be engaged in agriculture and are stalked by poverty. Due to their culture, religion, and value system, the Papuans are always in quest of harmony between man and nature, and between the micro- and macro-cosmos.
