Military Conflict and the Separatist Movement in Aceh

This study examines military conflict and separatist movements in Aceh as represented in the literary works of Arafat Nur. It aims to explore the relationship between power, ideology, and discourse in shaping the social evolution of Acehnese society amid prolonged conflict. A critical ethnographic approach was employed for its depth in interpreting social meanings and critiquing the power structures that inform collective actions and perspectives. The corpus consists of six fictional works by Arafat Nur published between 2014 and 2020. Data were collected through literary review, close reading with note-taking, and documentation techniques. The analysis was conducted using objective hermeneutics. The findings reveal that social evolution in Arafat Nur’s fiction is reflected through the transformation of an initially homogeneous society into a heterogeneous one as a consequence of war, the emergence of differentiated social roles, the breakdown of social integration, and the challenges encountered in transitioning from militancy to peace. His narratives portray how communities under pressure undergo structural shifts, adapt for survival, and gradually seek new forms of equilibrium after major upheaval. Arafat Nur’s fiction thus presents a human drama that illustrates social evolution theory in explaining societal change driven by war and violence. This research provides deeper insights into post-conflict social dynamics and offers conceptual grounds for formulating more effective reconciliation strategies and future social development policies.