Why does peace consolidate in some places previously characterized by large-scale extended violence and not in others? After the Communal War seeks to provide an answer by comparing the post-conflict experiences of two eastern Indonesian provinces: Maluku and North Maluku. In the former, episodes of large-scale violence have been frequent since the end of hostilities in early 2002. In contrast, North Maluku has seen a relative lack of violence since the end of its communal war. The authors explain the different post-conflict trajectories by looking at three sets of factors: elite incentives to use violence; societal support for violence; and the enabling environment that allows violence to occur. They argue that differences in the nature of the peace settlement and early post-conflict policies, combined with differences in the local political arena, shaped these factors in different ways in the two provinces. Consolidating peace in Indonesia requires approaches that strengthen impartial and democratic state institutions. Drawing on the findings, the authors provide recommendations on how this can be done.