This article explores factors leading to the formation of a new Gorontalo province in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi region. It argues that the historical legacy that left the ethnic Gorontalo feeling marginalized, combined with recent political developments in Indonesia, led actors in both the region and in the center to promote the formation of a new Gorontalo province. The argument highlights the need to rethink analyses of center-periphery relations that typically depict state power as pushing from the center outwards. This case suggests a more complex, fragmented, and multi-directional relationship between political actors in Jakarta and the peripheral regions.