When does the law create a sense of security, and when does it produce the opposite? This article takes that question as a starting point to examine land tenure security in Indonesia’s legally plural context.

Abstract

This article was recently published in the Indonesian Journal of Socio Legal Studies (IJSLS). It shows how overlapping and sometimes competing legal frameworks within the state can shape, reshape, and at times undermine tenure security.

Taking a case of a long-standing urban dispute over a status of land in Surabaya, the article argues that insecurity does not necessarily stem from the absence of law, but from the coexistence of multiple legal regimes. Additionally this article also highlights how legal consciousness and everyday engagement with land shape how people understand ownership, legitimacy, and make claims

Author

Widya Naseva Tuslian 

Journal

Indonesian Journal of Socio Legal Studies (IJSLS), volume 5-2, March 2026.

26-03-2026

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