ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the geographic, cultural and historical background to the Bougainville and West Papua conflicts. It traces the connections between resource development and nationalism in the case studies that provide a springboard for considering a whole range of other connections between actors and institutions that feed into the creation of conditions vulnerable to conflict. The chapter highlights the way in which the peoples of Bougainville and West Papua became connected to the nation-states of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Indonesia. The long-held desire among a significant proportion of Bougainvilleans for political independence from PNG therefore frames the mining debate on the island. By the time the Act of Free Choice was held in 1969 Indonesian leadership had shifted from Sukarno to Suharto. Based on the experience of Freeport, BP's entry into West Papua generated significant fear that the Tangguh LNG project would become another 'Freeport'.
