Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste

Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste PDF Author: Rui Feijó
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789048526338
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Indonesian province of Timor-Leste made international news when it decided to break away from Indonesia in 1999. The decision sparked deadly rampages by pro-integrationist militias, violence that only abated when the UN sent a force to maintain peace and help ease the way to actual independence. This book details the political history of Timor-Leste, both preceding and following the declaration of independence, and it uses the events, consequences, and lessons of that period to help us understand what to expect for similar experiments in democracy building elsewhere in the world.

Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste

Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste PDF Author: Rui Feijó
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789048526338
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Indonesian province of Timor-Leste made international news when it decided to break away from Indonesia in 1999. The decision sparked deadly rampages by pro-integrationist militias, violence that only abated when the UN sent a force to maintain peace and help ease the way to actual independence. This book details the political history of Timor-Leste, both preceding and following the declaration of independence, and it uses the events, consequences, and lessons of that period to help us understand what to expect for similar experiments in democracy building elsewhere in the world.

East Timor

East Timor PDF Author: Rhoda Margesson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The situation in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which is also known as simply Timor-Leste or East Timor, is relatively calm compared with recent periods of political strife and insurrection. That said, some underlying tensions, such as with the security sector, remain to be resolved. Timor-Leste faces many serious challenges as it seeks to establish a stable democracy and develop its economy. A key challenge for East Timor will be to create enough political stability to focus on building state capacity and infrastructure with resources from the Timor Sea and prevent them from being squandered by corrupt practices.

Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste PDF Author: Ben Dolven
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Human rights
Languages : en
Pages : 17

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Book Description
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste gained independence on May 20, 2002, after a long history of Portuguese colonialism and, more recently, Indonesian rule. The young nation, with a population of 1.1 million, has been aided by the United Nations under several different mandates under which the U.N. has provided peacekeeping, humanitarian, reconstruction and capacity building assistance to establish a functioning government. The current United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) is slated to withdraw from the nation at the end of 2012. The situation in Timor-Leste in 2012 is relatively calm compared with recent periods of political strife and insurrection. That said, Timor-Leste faces many serious challenges as it seeks to establish and deepen a stable democracy and develop its economy. Many institutions in the young nation remain weak, and tensions remain between the young country's political elites and among security forces. Timor-Leste remains one of Asia's poorest nations, ranking 147th out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. Generating economic opportunity and employment are among the government's greatest challenges. Congressional concerns have focused on security and the role of the United Nations, human rights, East Timor's boundary disputes with Australia and Indonesia, and the strengthening of the nation's political system and functioning of its parliament. Key challenges for Timor-Leste include creating enough political stability to focus on building state capacity and infrastructure, providing employment, and preventing the oil-and-gas revenue stream from being squandered by corruption or poor investment decisions.

Networked Governance of Freedom and Tyranny

Networked Governance of Freedom and Tyranny PDF Author: John Braithwaite
Publisher: ANU E Press
ISBN: 1921862769
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
This book offers a new approach to the extraordinary story of Timor-Leste. The Indonesian invasion of the former Portuguese colony in 1975 was widely considered to have permanently crushed the Timorese independence movement. Initial international condemnation of the invasion was quickly replaced by widespread acceptance of Indonesian sovereignty. But inside Timor-Leste various resistance networks maintained their struggle, against all odds. Twenty-four years later, the Timorese were allowed to choose their political future and the new country of Timor-Leste came into being in 2002. This book presents freedom in Timor-Leste as an accomplishment of networked governance, arguing that weak networks are capable of controlling strong tyrannies. Yet, as events in Timor-Leste since independence show, the nodes of networks of freedom can themselves become nodes of tyranny. The authors argue that constant renewal of liberation networks is critical for peace with justice - feminist networks for the liberation of women, preventive diplomacy networks for liberation of victims of war, village development networks, civil society networks. Constant renewal of the separation of powers is also necessary. A case is made for a different way of seeing the separation of powers as constitutive of the republican ideal of freedom as non-domination. The book is also a critique of realism as a theory of international affairs and of the limits of reforming tyranny through the centralised agency of a state sovereign. Reversal of Indonesia's 1975 invasion of Timor-Leste was an implausible accomplishment. Among the things that achieved it was principled engagement with Indonesia and its democracy movement by the Timor resistance. Unprincipled engagement by Australia and the United States in particular allowed the 1975 invasion to occur. The book argues that when the international community regulates tyranny responsively, with principled engagement, there is hope for a domestic politics of nonviolent transformation for freedom and justice.

Stateness and Democracy in East Asia

Stateness and Democracy in East Asia PDF Author: Aurel Croissant
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108495745
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
Comparative analysis of case studies across East Asia provides new insights into the relationship between state building, stateness, and democracy.

Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste

Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste PDF Author: David J. Mearns
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780980457834
Category : East Timor
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
In February 2008, three days after the Darwin conference from which this volume arose, violent attacks took place on the president and prime minister of Timor-Leste took place. President Ramos-Horta arrived in Darwin for treatment just as some of the authors represented here were leaving the town, having participated in a two day discussion on the theme Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste: Reconciling the Local and the National. The timing of the conference seemed almost prophetic given the concerns raised by the delegates regarding the ongoing conflict and violence in Timor-Leste. Some contributors revised their papers for publication in light of the horrifying attacks on the lives of Timor-Leste¿s leaders; others let their discussion stand as it had been presented at the conference. The result is an important collection of articles that provides highly pertinent insights into the current dilemmas of the government and people of the new republic to Australia¿s north. The book gives voice to East Timorese commentators as well as to Australian and other international scholars. The volume explores the necessity to come to terms with the past in order to move on to a better future. It also considers the role of the state and parliament in the new democracy while seeking to set these against the cultural and social practices of the people at whom development is aimed. Finally, it examines the role of the agencies that have sought to assist in the country¿s transformation from a colonised to a post-colonial society with a sound economic future. This work will add considerably to the growing literature on the opportunities and dangers facing what has often been classed as a 'fragile state¿.David Mearns is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Charles Darwin University. He has a long history of research in Southeast Asia and more recently in Indigenous Australia. In 2002 he published Looking Both Ways: Models for Justice in East Timor and has worked as a consultant to the United Nations in Timor-Leste.Foreword by Deputy Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Dr. José Luis Guterres - Opening Address at the Conference, Darwin, Australia, 7 February 2008

Narrating Democracy in Myanmar

Narrating Democracy in Myanmar PDF Author: Tamas Wells
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
ISBN: 9048553792
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
This book analyses what Myanmar's struggle for democracy has signified to Burmese activists and democratic leaders, and to their international allies. In doing so, it explores how understanding contested meanings of democracy helps make sense of the country's tortuous path since Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won historic elections in 2015. Using Burmese and English language sources, Narrating Democracy in Myanmar reveals how the country's ongoing struggles for democracy exist not only in opposition to Burmese military elites, but also within networks of local activists and democratic leaders, and international aid workers.

A New Era?

A New Era? PDF Author: Sue Ingram
Publisher: ANU Press
ISBN: 192502251X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Timor-Leste has made impressive progress since its historic achievement of independence in 2002. From the instability that blighted its early years, the fledgling democratic country has achieved strong economic growth and a gradual reinstatement of essential social services. A decade on in 2012, Presidential and Parliamentary elections produced smooth political transitions and the extended UN peacekeeping presence in the country came to an end. But significant challenges remain. This book, a product of the inaugural Timor-Leste Update held at The Australian National University in 2013 to mark the end of Timor-Leste’s first decade as a new nation, brings together a vibrant collection of papers from leading and emerging scholars and policy analysts. Collectively, the chapters provide a set of critical reflections on recent political, economic and social developments in Timor-Leste. The volume also looks to the future, highlighting a range of transitions, prospects and undoubted challenges facing the nation over the next 5–10 years. Key themes that inform the collection include nation-building in the shadow of history, trends in economic development, stability and social cohesion, and citizenship, democracy and social inclusion. The book is an indispensable guide to contemporary Timor-Leste.

Local Governance in Timor-Leste

Local Governance in Timor-Leste PDF Author: Deborah Cummins
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317634667
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
Across many parts of the postcolonial world, it is everyday reality for people to cross regularly between state-based and customary governance, institutions and norms. This book examines this phenomenon in the context of the villages of Timor-Leste, and the state-building efforts that have been conducted by the Timorese government and international development agencies since the vote for independence in 1999. Drawing on 5 years of ethnographic fieldwork in the remote, rural areas of Timor-Leste, the book provides a critical analysis of the challenges that communities face when navigating coexisting customary and state-based structures and norms in a context where customary law continues to be the central guiding force. It also explores the various creative ways in which local leaders and community members make sense of their local governance environment. It then draws on these insights to provide a more nuanced, contextualised account of the impact of institutional interventions, state-building and democratisation within these villages. While set in the context of state- and nation-building efforts following Timor-Leste’s vote for independence, the book also provides a broader examination of the issues that arise for the postcolonial state adequately meeting the needs of its citizens. Further, it explores the challenges that are met by communities when incorporating state influences and demands into their everyday lives. Expanding the scope of empirical Timor-Leste scholarship by moving beyond anthropological description and providing the first detailed political analysis of local-level governance in contemporary Timorese communities, this book is a valuable contribution to studies on Asian Politics, Governance and International Studies.

The Politics of Timor-Leste

The Politics of Timor-Leste PDF Author: Michael Leach
Publisher: Cornell Univ Southeast Asia
ISBN: 9780877277590
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
The Politics of Timor-Leste explores the critical issues facing the Asia-Pacific's youngest nation as it seeks to consolidate a democracy following years of international intervention. The authors study the challenges that have burdened the state since it broke from Indonesia amid the violence of 1999 and formally achieved full independence in 2002. They assess the notable accomplishments of Timor-Leste's leaders and citizens, and consider the country's future prospects as international organizations prepare to depart. A close study of Timor-Leste sheds light on ambitious state-building projects that have been initiated, with varying success, across the globe. Contributors to this volume map the nation's recent political evolution through studies of its constitutional debates, political parties, and foreign policy responses to powerful neighbors. They address the social and economic conditions that complicate Timor-Leste's political development, such as gender discrimination, poverty, corruption, and security-sector volatility. The contemporary history of Timor-Leste reflects the experiences of many postcolonial and developing countries that have sought to establish a viable state following conflict and a declaration of independence. This small nation has been the subject of five consecutive UN missions with varying mandates. The Politics of Timor-Leste ought to serve as a key source for comparative postcolonial studies and a guide to future trends in international state-building and assistance.