本文旨在以都蘭阿美族年齡組織制度以及當代的發展為例說明阿美族的社會秩序以及伴隨的公共事務運作的持續與變遷。年齡組織制度是阿美族社會與文化的核心之一，其社會文化邏輯在面對外在社會變遷的力量時，曾一度面臨幾近崩解的命運或者轉化到儀式、日常社交活動以及相關生命禮儀互動的層面上，卻在社會秩序以及與其相關的公共事務的層次上卻面臨新的困境。自1990年代中期都蘭部落的年齡組織復振運動開始後，在族群文化認同以及年齡組織作為保護部落機制的概念基礎上，年齡組織中的青年階層力圖與可能危害部落發展的各種土地開發案件進行對抗與協商。但是，由於力主開發的外部力量與年齡組織透過復振所累積的能量相比較下不成比例、大社會政治與法律的限制，以及內部溝通方式的差異，使得年齡組織遭遇了世代間斷層的困境，也面臨個人意見磨合的難題，顯現出國家力量將部落族人再次邊緣化的跡象。本文認為必須同時從年齡組織在阿美族社會中的社會文化邏輯、歷史脈絡、以及當代的發展困境中，使其有機會再協商一個再現阿美族社會秩序、公共事務管理以及保護部落原則的年齡組織，始能夠讓阿美族人有機會從認同走到實踐的道路上，除了維繫阿美族人對於族群文化認同的基礎，同時保有部落的發展不致被持續邊緣化的可能性。

This paper explores the continuities and changes to the social order and public affairs in the contemporary age organization among the A'tolan Amis. The age organization among Amis communities is one of the core systems in Amis culture and society, some of which have been undergoing turmoil and disorganization as changes from the outside world have been encountered. These surviving systems have been transformed into annual rituals, daily social activities, and life ceremonies. However, as one of the core values in age organization, the social order and the subsequent operation of public affairs among Amis communities have encountered a new condition within struggles. In A'tolan, the age organization ritual has been revived since the mid-1990's; in particular, the revived younger generation has strongly resisted government sponsored tourism projects on their home land and has attempted to negotiate solutions based on their ethnic identity and the concept of protecting their home village. However, due to the inequality of the power and resources between the government and the age organization, the restrictions of the law, the political systems of the State, the internal communications within the age organization itself became difficult, encountering generational gap conflicts and different personal ideas. These struggles are a sign that the A'tolan Amis is going to be re-marginalized. In this paper, I argue that the age organization has to be understood not only from the socio-cultural perspective but also as an historical process with contemporary struggles so that it has chance to negotiate both with external society and the internal community to develop an age organization representing the social order, the principle of public affairs, and the practice of protecting the home villages so as to find a solution from just mere identity to actual practice among the Amis communities.