Poso’s second jihad:the local, the national, the global

This article looks at the second Poso jihad from 2011 to 2022, focusing on its local, national, and global dimensions. Drawing upon 62 interviews with members of Poso-based Islamist extremist groups, it advances three arguments: First, it contends that at the local level the lingering grievances and perceptions of injustice as well as the initial jihadi leaders, trainers, and recruits provided continuity between the first and second Poso jihads. Second, it posits that the jihadi training camps served as the crucial bridge connecting the local, the national, and the global dimensions. Third, it argues that the interplay between the local, national, and global enabled MIT to periodically regenerate its jihad and to have a reach far beyond its numbers.