Academic literature on the topic 'Administration of Political aspects Timor-Leste'

An independent Timor-Leste posed a dilemma for Australian foreign policy. On the one hand, Australia led the multinational military coalition that restored peace in 1999, and had an obvious interest in ensuring that its newest neighbour was self-reliant and stable. On the other hand, independence negated three decades of Australian diplomatic effort to control the oil and gas resources of the Timor Sea. Accordingly, Australia accepted Timor-Leste’s formal independence but tried to influence key aspects of its internal and external policies using foreign aid, espionage and other instruments of statecraft.

On December 7, 1975 Indonesian forces invaded the territory of East Timor, a Portuguese colony for some four and a half centuries. Following the 1974 Portuguese revolution, East Timor, like other Portuguese non-self-governing territories had been going through a process of self determination. Portuguese authorities evacuated the territory in August 1975 during civil disorders, condoned if not fomented by the Indonesians. The Frente Revolucianaria de Timor Leste Independente (FRETILIN), a popular group which aimed at independence for the territory after a short transitional period, gained the upper hand. It declared independence on November 28, 1975, hoping this would strengthen its hand in dealing with Indonesian border incursions. A full-scale Indonesian invasion followed.

The year 2009 was one of many anniversaries for the state-building project. It marked ten years since the United Nations began its bold experiments of state-building in East Timor and Kosovo, now the independent state of Timor-Leste and the embryonic Republic of Kosovo respectively. It was twenty years since Namibia held elections in the course of becoming independent, heralding a new post-Cold War activism. It was also ninety years since the League of Nations established the mandate system, which – even though it applied only to the colonies of enemy states defeated in the Great War – marked the beginning of the end of colonialism.

The semi-presidential system in the new state of Timor-Leste has institutionalized a political struggle between the president, Xanana Gusmãão, and the prime minister, Maríí Alkatiri. This has polarized political alliances and threatens the viability of the new state. This paper explains the ideological divisions and the history of rivalry between these two key political actors. The adoption of Marxism by Fretilin in 1977 led to Gusmãão's repudiation of the party in the 1980s and his decision to remove Falintil, the guerrilla movement, from Fretilin control. The power struggle between the two leaders is then examined in the transition to independence. This includes an account of the politicization of the defense and police forces and attempts by Minister of Internal Administration Rogéério Lobato to use disaffected Falintil veterans as a counterforce to the Gusmãão loyalists in the army. The December 4, 2002, Dili riots are explained in the context of this political struggle.

Este artigo tem como objetivo articular aspectos da cultura do Timor-Leste com a Educação Matemática Escolar. Especificamente, a investigação descreve e analisa os “Tais”, roupas tradicionais, cuja existência antecede o período colonial e são conhecidos por todo o povo do Timor-Leste. A parte empírica da pesquisa foi realizada através de procedimentos de inspiração etnográfica e envolveu cinco mulheres tecelãs de diferentes postos administrativos pertencentes ao município de Lautem no Timor-Leste. O material empírico coletado foi analisado tendo como principal referencial teórico a Etnomatemática. Especificamente, neste artigo, foram analisados os padrões e elementos geométricos presentes nos Tais. Assim, foram evidenciadas possíveis articulações com a Educação Matemática a partir do trabalho com sequências, elementos da geometria, paralelismo, perpendicularidade e transformações geométricas. Afirmamos, ao longo deste trabalho que além dos conteúdos matemáticos, existe a necessidade de que as aulas de matemática abriguem discussões que envolvam diferentes dimensões da vida timorense, seja em seus aspectos sociais, políticos e ou culturais.Palavras-chave: Timor Leste. Tais. Etnomatemática. Educação matemática escolar. Abstract: This article aims to articulate aspects of the East Timor culture with the School Mathematics Education. Specifically, the research describes and analyzes the tais, traditional clothing, whose existence predates the colonial period and are known to all the people of Timor-Leste. The empirical part of the research was carried out through ethnographic inspiration procedures and involved five weavers women from different posts administratives belonging to the Lautem city in East Timor. The empirical data collected was analyzed with the main theoretical framework to Ethnomathematics. Specifically in this article, the patterns and geometric elements present in the Tais were analyzed. Thus, possible articulations with Mathematical Education were evidenced from the work with sequences, elements of geometry, parallelism, perpendicularity and geometric transformations. However, I punctuate that these concepts should not be disconnected from the tais weaving process. Put in another way discuss the need for math classes entertain discussions involving different dimensions of Timorese life whether in its social, political and or cultural.Keywords: East Timor. “Tais”. Ethnomathematics. School Mathematics education.

Xanana Gusmão recently mentioned that a “Second Maubere Miracle” is underway, implying that a major political reform will soon shake the roots of Timor-Leste's public administration. Decentralization, defined in a very broad sense, has been a constitutional mandate since independence, but successive governments have failed to engage this reform despite paying lip service to its necessity. This essay reviews the options before the policy makers – both in theoretical terms (distinguishing between the various definitions of decentralization) and in the pragmatic forms that have been contemplated so far – and discusses their implications for the process of rooting a modern democracy in the country both at the intermediate, district level and at the grassroots, suku (village) level. For this purpose, the essay brings together the author's own field research and the rich literature that has emerged in the recent past, including contributions by Timorese colleagues.

Abstract When Timor-Leste (re)gained its independence in 2002, it appeared to be a triumph of international state building. In a relatively short period, a massive United Nations (UN)-run mission had purportedly built the institutions of a liberal democratic state. State building took place in a highly globalized context; there was a large UN presence as well as international non-governmental organizations, academics, journalists, and activists. In addition, many exiled Timorese leaders returned to play a role. While constitution making was central to state building, there are questions about the legitimacy, effectiveness, and stability of the Timor-Leste Constitution and the state institutions that it created. This article focuses on three aspects of the interplay between the global and local during the constitution-making process. First, it considers the relationship between the UN and Timorese elites, finding that the UN adopted a hands-off approach that created space for certain elites to dominate and politicize the process. These returning exiles engaged in ‘cut and paste’ constitution making, with much of the Timor-Leste Constitution based on the 1989 version of the Portuguese Constitution (modified to an extent by the 1990 Mozambican Constitution). Second, it analyses whether the constitution-making process was a true exercise of the constituent power of the Timorese people and concludes that the dominance of certain elites contributed to social division. Third, it discusses the significance of public participation, noting that minimal participation has meant that the Constitution does not reflect the views of most Timorese people. This is even though the principle of ‘popular sovereignty’ implies that, at least in states that aspire to be liberal democracies, people should be given the opportunity to participate in making their state’s Constitution. It concludes by arguing that the Timorese people missed the opportunity for their Constitution to define the political bond between them and embed state institutions in the local context.

Land in Timor-Leste had been a subject of national importance even before the government first announced a planned petroleum infrastructure ‘mega-project’ in 2009, the ‘Tasi Mane’ project, on the country’s south coast in Suai, Betano and Beaco. This project has brought again into sharp relief the question of land and its control. Much recent work has focussed on ‘land grabs’ or how foreign capital and the state have played a significant role in dispossessing smallholders of arable land in other settings. This paper highlights three aspects which are inherent in the process of control. First, authority lies at the heart of land control alongside political-economic factors that lead to relocation of residents from land in project areas. Second, problems of recognition of land rights in project areas have led to more strident claims to authority locally. This issue I demonstrate by showing the historical legacy of two communities that occupy Beaco land. Third, the case study of the two communities sheds light on the social relations inherent in local property relations and subsequent disputes catalysed by contests over land control.

This study provided empirical evidence to support the point of view that selective models of local govemance as endorsed by multilateral donor agencies such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the IMF, can be applied in the specific situation of a developing country if they are careful designed with a full participation of potential stakeholders including the beneficiaries. Furthermore, it showed a participatory method for collecting and widening the views and perspectives of the citizen in shaping a political future of a country in transition, which is a unique experience in the history of all public administrations.