The Double Task: Nation- and State-Building in Timor-Leste
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make an innovative contribution to the interrelationship of nation-building and economic development by addressing important issues on the agenda such as the exploitation of oil, agriculture, tourism, the economic dependency on the former oppressor Indonesia, and foreign aid.
Abstract: Timor-Leste has been facing the arduous task of building a viable nation-state since the country's 2002 restoration of independence. The dual challenge consists of interdependent efforts at nation-building and state-building. The author discusses both terms with regard to their relevance to public education and economic development. He raises the question of why nation-building and state-building experience rather contrary prioritisations in these functionally close policy fields. In the educational sector, government activities demonstrate Fretilin's orientation towards Portuguese-speaking countries. The introduction of Portuguese as an official language has accentuated existing lingual and generational cleavage lines. Economic policy in Timor-Leste, however, tends to be more pragmatic and less ideological. The article aims to make an innovative contribution to the interrelationship of nation-building and economic development by addressing important issues on the agenda such as the exploitation of oil, agriculture, tourism, the economic dependency on the former oppressor Indonesia, and foreign aid. The author argues that economic growth will eventually shape the future format of the East Timorese nation as either a new self-confident political player or a withdrawn peasant nation.
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01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the processes of state-building that took place in Timor-Leste under Portuguese and Indonesian occupation and the role of the international community post-1999, concluding that the donor-scripted statebuilding model was inappropriate, ultimately precipitating urban crisis in Dili and the city's failure to drive state-making and "internal integration" in the country at large.
Abstract: Timor-Leste's celebrated journey to statehood violently unravelled in 2006, leaving the country's post-independence dream in tatters. Why has the young state has stumbled so badly given the overwhelming national consensus for independence and firm international support for reconstruction? Many scholars have attempted to solve this puzzle, but none have succeeding in providing a comprehensive analysis. This paper seeks to build on the existing scholarship on state-building by introducing the city as the key site of 'internal integration' central to the fortunes of state formation under conditions of globalisation and crisis. Exploring the processes of state-building that took place in Timor-Leste under Portuguese and Indonesian occupation and the role of the international community post-1999, the paper concludes that the donor-scripted state-building model for Timor-Leste was inappropriate, ultimately precipitating urban crisis in Dili and the city's failure to drive state-making and 'internal integration' in the country at large.
104 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that specific aspects of this new curriculum have effectively alienated and/or divided large segments of its population, despite a desire for the reforms to result in a more inclusive, democratic and distinctly “Timorese” educational system.
70 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse Australian-led statebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), and highlight the complexities involved with the two-level game of international intervention.
Abstract: This essay analyses Australian-led statebuilding efforts in Solomon Islands, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). RAMSI has often been offered as a successful example of statebuilding worthy of international consideration. Here, some of the limitations of the RAMSI mission and its progress in rebuilding the ‘failed’ South Pacific state will be carefully assessed. Despite significant short-term statebuilding successes in restoring security and stabilizing the economy, RAMSI faces long-term challenges centred on the complex politics of political community-building. As an example of ‘best practice’ statebuilding, RAMSI highlights the complexities involved with the two-level game of international intervention: the (conflicting) challenge of reconciling the need to respect sovereign sensitivities with the need to undertake robust political engagement.
32 citations
Cites background from "The Double Task: Nation- and State-..."
...Referring to UN-led efforts in East Timor, Andre Borgerhoff (2006) makes the important observation that in undertaking intervention the international community is actually faced with a ‘double task’ of statebuilding and nation-building....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on self-government provisions in the aftermath of violent interethnic conflict and argue that lasting intergroup arrangements are especially challenging when they involve “contested” ethnic groups.
Abstract: Institutions can contribute to regulating interethnic conflict; however, in many cases they fail to bring about lasting peace. The paper argues that their negligence of intraethnic factors accounts for some of this failure. Ethnic groups are often treated as unitary actors even though most consist of various linguistic, tribal or religious subgroups. This internal heterogeneity is often obscured by overarching collective ethnic identities that are fostered by interethnic conflict. However, when such interethnic conflict is settled, these subgroup differences may come back to the fore. This “resurgence” can lead to subgroup conflict about the political and economic resources provided through intergroup institutional settlements. Such conflict can in turn undermine the peace‐making effect of intergroup arrangements. Different subgroup identity constellations make such destructive effects more or less likely. The paper focuses on self‐government provisions in the aftermath of violent interethnic conflict and argues that lasting intergroup arrangements are especially challenging when they involve “contested” ethnic groups.
25 citations