CAUSES OF CONFLICT BETWEEN STUDENT GROUPS FROM THE PALOPO (IPMIL) AND BONE (KEPMI) REGIONS IN MAKASSAR CITY

Abstract

The conflict between regional student groups (Organda) between IPMIL Palopo and KEPMI Bone in Makassar City is a social phenomenon that cannot be understood as a single event, but rather as a process formed through a series of repeated and interrelated daily social interactions. This study aims to analyze the causes and escalation processes of the conflict between the two organizations using qualitative methods through a case study approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation of informants from both organizations. The results of the study indicate that the conflict was triggered by four interrelated patterns, namely: (1) small incidents in daily interactions such as bumps, jokes, and misunderstandings that developed into open conflict due to the failure of social interactions; (2) the activation of regional identity and organizational solidarity that transformed individual problems into collective conflicts; (3) the role of seniors, organizational doctrine, and collective memories of past conflicts that inherited accumulated emotions between generations; and (4) structural conditions such as campus political momentum, new student admission activities, slow institutional responses, and a large mass base that strengthened the escalation of the conflict. These findings indicate that conflict develops as a process of social interaction that occurs repeatedly and continuously, not solely as a result of a spontaneous, isolated event.