Antara Harapan dan Kenyataan: Studi Kasus pada Masyarakat Desa Ria-ria yang Terdampak Konflik Agraria dalam Tinjauan Teori Deprivasi Relatif

Abstract

The National Strategic Program of the Food Estate in North Sumatra, located in Ria-ria Village, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, was initially promised to improve community welfare but instead triggered agrarian conflicts in the form of horizontal disputes, uncertainty over customary land rights, and social tensions. These have become the primary reasons for the emergence of relative deprivation among the community. Relative deprivation is a psychological condition caused by the disparity between expectations and reality, which can lead to dissatisfaction, protest actions, and even frustration. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study method, employing in-depth interviews and field observations, with purposive sampling as the sampling technique. Findings reveal that the conflict began with overlapping land claims between Ria-ria Village and the neighboring village, Parsingguran I, due to the involvement of the neighboring village as the manager of Ria-ria’s customary land, which had been recognized in the Decree of the Regent of North Tapanuli No. 138/Kpts/1979. The people of Ria-ria responded with collective actions in the form of protests, which escalated into violent clashes in 2024. Inequality in legal resolutions, unequal treatment between villages, and minimal participation in decision-making processes gave rise to relative deprivation as a reaction to perceived injustice. The findings indicate that participants exhibit characteristics of relative deprivation, including fraternalistic, decremental, and aspirational types. This research is not intended to generalize the findings to a wider population.