Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'East Timor politics'

East Timor is a former colony of Portugal and one-time province of Indonesia. Portuguese colonization ended in 1975 amid brief civil warring between local political parties that had recently been established. This conflict was followed by an Indonesian military invasion, ushering in a period of domination that only ended in 1999 when the United Nations carried out a referendum by which to determine East Timor's future. But this occupation also ended with much violence, generating bitter sentiments between elites that has hampered democratisation even as independence has been won. One of the conclusions made in this study is that East Timor's transition to democracy fails to correlate fully with any of the modal processes outlined in the literature. Rather, in the case of East Timor, a number of pathways merge. In some ways, it begins with what Huntington conceptualized as bottom-up 'replacement', with local mass publics voting against their oppressors. But one of the factors that quickly distinguished this case is that the voting by which change was organized by an external force, the United Nations (UN), and targeted a foreign power, the Indonesian government. In this way, the processes of independence and democratisation were nearly coterminous. East Timor's progress was also complicated by Indonesia's responding to the referendum's outcome by instigating much violence through the militia groups that it controlled. This summoned yet another external actor, the Australian military. It also greatly extended the role of the UN, geared now to restarting the democratisation process by organising founding elections. But if East Timor's democratic transition is complex, an account of the precariousness of the democracy that has been brought about is straightforward. Put simply, given the weakness of institutions and civil society organization, this thesis restores attention to the autonomy and voluntarism possessed by national elites. The hypothesis guiding this thesis, then, is that elites are disunified, but have avoided any return to outright warring. Further, they are at most 'semi-loyal' in their attitudes toward democracy. Accordingly, democracy persists in East Timor, but is subject to many abuses. Thus, most of the research in this thesis seeks to explain elite-level attitudes and relations. In particular, it shows that cooperation between elites and shared commitments to democracy has been hampered by the diversity of their backgrounds. Some elites gained their standings and outlooks under Indonesian occupation. Others gained their statuses because of the guerrilla resistance they mounted against this occupation. The attitudes of other elites were deeply coloured by their experiences in a multitude of countries, including Indonesia, Portugal, Mozambique and Australia. This thesis then demonstrates that these diverse origins and standings have shaped elite attitudes and relations in ways that are unfavourable for political stability and democracy. Under Portuguese rule, three distinct elite groups emerged in East Timor: top government administrators, business elites and young professionals or intellectuals. In the last years of Portuguese domination, they formed some political parties, enabling them to emerge as political elites. Lacking what Higley et al. label structural integration and value consensus, these elites engaged in violent conflict that peaked in brief civil warring and triggered the Indonesian occupation. This elite-level disunity persisted during occupation, with elites continuing to use violence against each other. National elites were also diversified further, with the administrators and resistors joined by pro-Indonesian groups, the Catholic Church group, and nationalist intellectuals, hence extending the range of social origins and ideological outlooks. East Timor finally gained independence in 2002. However, this thesis shows that elite relations still lack integration and consensus. Their country's political frameworks were negotiated by officials from Portugal and Indonesia under the auspices of the UN. Moreover, even after the referendum sponsored by the UN was held, UN officials in New York overshadowed the preferences and decision making of national elites. This exclusion denied East Timorese elites the opportunity to learn and to habituate themselves in making political decisions based on peaceful dialogue and bargaining. Thus, while the use of overt violence diminished, elites continued to harbour deep suspicions, encouraging their use of manipulations, subterfuge, and violence by proxy in their dealings with one another. In consequence, tensions between elites in East Timor, while stopping short of outright warring, continue to simmer. It is thus uncertain whether, or for how long, these tensions might be contained by the formal institutions and procedures that have been put in place. Analysis is also clouded by the fact that in the wake of independence, still more kinds of elites have appeared on the scene. New fault lines thus stem from generational membership (older and younger), geographic location (diaspora and homegrown), and new kinds of organisational bases (political parties, state bureaucracy, security forces, business, the Catholic Church, and civil society). These elites have only begun to interact with another directly and regularly since East Timor's independence. They find that they possess different outlooks and levels of influence and power. Nonetheless, despite these inauspicious beginnings, it is important to underscore the fact that since independence, elites have refrained from the open warring that they once undertook. This thesis predicts that sustained elite skirmishing, but not open warring, and semi-democratic politics, rather than 'full' democracy or hard authoritarianism will persist. Much should be made clearer, though, by the ways in which the next parliamentary election, due in 2007, is conducted.

East Timor is a former colony of Portugal and one-time province of Indonesia. Portuguese colonization ended in 1975 amid brief civil warring between local political parties that had recently been established. This conflict was followed by an Indonesian military invasion, ushering in a period of domination that only ended in 1999 when the United Nations carried out a referendum by which to determine East Timor's future. But this occupation also ended with much violence, generating bitter sentiments between elites that has hampered democratisation even as independence has been won. One of the conclusions made in this study is that East Timor's transition to democracy fails to correlate fully with any of the modal processes outlined in the literature. Rather, in the case of East Timor, a number of pathways merge. In some ways, it begins with what Huntington conceptualized as bottom-up 'replacement', with local mass publics voting against their oppressors. But one of the factors that quickly distinguished this case is that the voting by which change was organized by an external force, the United Nations (UN), and targeted a foreign power, the Indonesian government. In this way, the processes of independence and democratisation were nearly coterminous. East Timor's progress was also complicated by Indonesia's responding to the referendum's outcome by instigating much violence through the militia groups that it controlled. This summoned yet another external actor, the Australian military. It also greatly extended the role of the UN, geared now to restarting the democratisation process by organising founding elections. But if East Timor's democratic transition is complex, an account of the precariousness of the democracy that has been brought about is straightforward. Put simply, given the weakness of institutions and civil society organization, this thesis restores attention to the autonomy and voluntarism possessed by national elites. The hypothesis guiding this thesis, then, is that elites are disunified, but have avoided any return to outright warring. Further, they are at most 'semi-loyal' in their attitudes toward democracy. Accordingly, democracy persists in East Timor, but is subject to many abuses. Thus, most of the research in this thesis seeks to explain elite-level attitudes and relations. In particular, it shows that cooperation between elites and shared commitments to democracy has been hampered by the diversity of their backgrounds. Some elites gained their standings and outlooks under Indonesian occupation. Others gained their statuses because of the guerrilla resistance they mounted against this occupation. The attitudes of other elites were deeply coloured by their experiences in a multitude of countries, including Indonesia, Portugal, Mozambique and Australia. This thesis then demonstrates that these diverse origins and standings have shaped elite attitudes and relations in ways that are unfavourable for political stability and democracy. Under Portuguese rule, three distinct elite groups emerged in East Timor: top government administrators, business elites and young professionals or intellectuals. In the last years of Portuguese domination, they formed some political parties, enabling them to emerge as political elites. Lacking what Higley et al. label structural integration and value consensus, these elites engaged in violent conflict that peaked in brief civil warring and triggered the Indonesian occupation. This elite-level disunity persisted during occupation, with elites continuing to use violence against each other. National elites were also diversified further, with the administrators and resistors joined by pro-Indonesian groups, the Catholic Church group, and nationalist intellectuals, hence extending the range of social origins and ideological outlooks. East Timor finally gained independence in 2002. However, this thesis shows that elite relations still lack integration and consensus. Their country's political frameworks were negotiated by officials from Portugal and Indonesia under the auspices of the UN. Moreover, even after the referendum sponsored by the UN was held, UN officials in New York overshadowed the preferences and decision making of national elites. This exclusion denied East Timorese elites the opportunity to learn and to habituate themselves in making political decisions based on peaceful dialogue and bargaining. Thus, while the use of overt violence diminished, elites continued to harbour deep suspicions, encouraging their use of manipulations, subterfuge, and violence by proxy in their dealings with one another. In consequence, tensions between elites in East Timor, while stopping short of outright warring, continue to simmer. It is thus uncertain whether, or for how long, these tensions might be contained by the formal institutions and procedures that have been put in place. Analysis is also clouded by the fact that in the wake of independence, still more kinds of elites have appeared on the scene. New fault lines thus stem from generational membership (older and younger), geographic location (diaspora and homegrown), and new kinds of organisational bases (political parties, state bureaucracy, security forces, business, the Catholic Church, and civil society). These elites have only begun to interact with another directly and regularly since East Timor's independence. They find that they possess different outlooks and levels of influence and power. Nonetheless, despite these inauspicious beginnings, it is important to underscore the fact that since independence, elites have refrained from the open warring that they once undertook. This thesis predicts that sustained elite skirmishing, but not open warring, and semi-democratic politics, rather than 'full' democracy or hard authoritarianism will persist. Much should be made clearer, though, by the ways in which the next parliamentary election, due in 2007, is conducted.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith Business School
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Dependent Communities investigates the political situations in contemporary Cambodia and East Timor, where powerful international donors intervened following deadly civil conflicts. This comparative analysis critiques international policies that focus on rebuilding state institutions to accommodate the global market. In addition, it explores the dilemmas of politicians in Cambodia and East Timor who struggle to satisfy both wealthy foreign benefactors and constituents at home-groups whose interests frequently conflict.Hughes argues that the policies of Western aid organizations tend to stifle active political engagement by the citizens of countries that have been torn apart by war. The neoliberal ideology promulgated by United Nations administrations and other international NGOs advocates state sovereignty, but in fact "sovereignty" is too flimsy a foundation for effective modern democratic politics. The result is an oppressive peace that tends to rob survivors and former resistance fighters of their agency and aspirations for genuine postwar independence.In her study of these two cases, Hughes demonstrates that the clientelist strategies of Hun Sen, Cambodia's postwar leader, have created a shadow network of elites and their followers that has been comparatively effective in serving the country's villages, even though so often coercive and corrupt. East Timor's postwar leaders, on the other hand, have alienated voters by attempting to follow the guidelines of the donors closely and ignoring the immediate needs and voices of the people.Dependent Communities offers a searing analysis of contemporary international aid strategies based on the author's years of fieldwork in Cambodia and East Timor.

This dissertation analyzes the transnational politics of two new or incipient diasporas, the Acehnese and East Timorese. It examines their political roles and activities in and across several countries in the West (Europe, North America, and Australia) as well as their impact on the “homeland” or country of origin, during and after armed conflict. It suggests that the importance of diaspora participation in conflict and conflict settlement is not solely or even primarily dependent on the material resources of the diaspora. Instead it is the ideational and political resources that may determine a diaspora’s ability to ensure its impact on the homeland, on the conflict, and its participation in the conflict settlement process. This study adopts a constructivist approach, process-tracing methods, and an analytical framework that combines insights from diaspora politics and theories on transnational advocacy networks (TANs). It concludes that the Aceh and East Timor cases support the proposition that diasporas are important and dynamic political actors, even when they are small, new, and weak. These cases also support the proposition that the political identities and goals of diasporas can be transformed over time as a diaspora is replenished with new members who have new or different ideas, as factions within diasporas gain power vis-à-vis others, and/or as the political partners available to the diaspora in the hostland and internationally change or broaden. The analysis of a diaspora’s relationship with a transnational advocacy network or networks (TAN) yields new insights into conflict settlement processes. Diasporans potentially learn from, contribute to, and benefit from TAN strategies and tactics. The TAN itself can help project the political influence of the diaspora. More significantly, the diaspora TAN relationship, in certain cases, can have a transformative effect on the diaspora, potentially moderating its views and positions, and thereby facilitating conflict settlement. Moreover, the moderating influence of the diaspora-TAN relationship may have implications for the post-conflict consolidation of democracy, human rights norms, and civil society.

This thesis explores the impact of political discourses on the construction of the issue-culture of East Timor in Portugal, and analyses media representations of East Timor from 1975 up to 1999. The research looks specifically at the discourses and strategies of the state and those groups who challenged establishment views of the issue, namely NGOs campaigning for the territory and the Timorese resistance. On the basis of material gathered through media stories, political documents and interviews, the research argues that media coverage was driven by the political framing of East Timor; that challenge groups were more successful in defining the terms of coverage when they sought resonance with larger cultural themes; and that changing media practices impacted dramatically on the news narrative. It concludes that East Timor was legitimised once it was transformed into a domestic issue, and articulated with ideological versions of identity and history reminiscent of the Portuguese Empire.

In the space of four weeks in April and May 2006, the newly independent country of Timor-Leste plunged from 'UN success story' into catastrophe. As hostilities grew, most of the inhabitants of the capital city fled their homes, and on 24 May, amidst armed conflict among police, army and irregular groups, Timor-Leste's leadership called in an international military intervention to restore the peace. Despite its gravity the crisis remains poorly understood both inside and outside the country, and many of its critical details have been lost to sight in the wake of subsequent events. The political nature of the crisis and the violence accompanying it exposed unresolved issues and deep divisions rooted in Timor's history. A returned Fretilin exile group under the leadership of Mari Alkatiri outmanoeuvred resistance hero Xanana Gusmão in the UN-managed political and constitutional processes leading to independence in 2002. After independence Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri pursued an autocratic style of government, favouring friends and excluding and persecuting opponents, built up paramilitary police forces and declared that Fretilin would rule for fifty years. By early 2006 Timor-Leste's first significant petroleum revenues had come on stream, its first parliamentary elections were due in 2007, and the UN mission (UNOTIL) was preparing to leave. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's appetite for power and authority, resisted by President Xanana Gusmão, made a confrontation of some kind inevitable. In early 2006 the political contest between Mari Alkatiri and Xanana Gusmão surfaced, over complaints of discrimination in the army. Over the following months, as tensions grew, the army fractured and the police force disintegrated. In May 2006 armed conflict among army, police, and irregular armed groups brought the country to the brink of civil war, halted only by the rapid deployment of Australian-led international forces on 25 May. Subsequent judicial investigations and prosecutions were pursued in dilatory fashion and left the impression that an understanding had been reached among the leadership to avoid mutual recrimination. The failure of the country's leadership to resolve pressing issues before the crisis, and their failure afterwards to account publicly for and to atone for what happened in 2006, sacrificed democratic and legal principle in the interest of political deal-making, and embedded undesirable precedents in Timor-Leste's political and judicial practice.

This thesis is an examination of the development of ethnic, cultural and national identity among the East Timor people reaching Australia after the East Timor civil war of August 1975 . In the introduction I argue that ethnic and national identity, or ethno-nationalism, is not a natural phenomenon and that it can emerge at any moment in time owing to specific historical, socio-economic or political circumstances. I argue that during the 1974-1975 period the Portuguese- Timorese mestieo (racially mixed) elite of East Timer, principally those of Dili, of which the refugees are representative, began developing specific ethnic and nationalist ideologies in response to new political circumstances offering the people the opportunity to assert an all-embracing East Timorese identity. The chapters which follow present data and analysis in support of the initial argument and are directed to show that a combination of theoretical approaches offer a better rationale for the understanding of identity creation and development. In Chapters 2 and 3 I describe the refugees' historical, socio-economic and political background and assert that history is important for an understanding of the selective representation of myths, symbols, ideologies and instrumental tactics. In Chapters 4, 5 and 6 I examine the development of III identity against the interplay of social order, power and conflict. I direct the analysis towards the notion of negotiation of an identity within global and local political and social parameters. I examine political issues, contextual problems, personal and group motives and the re-creation and presentation of symbols, myths, ideas and beliefs. Chapter 7 shows how the search for the legitimization of an identity and political claims by nationalist individuals and the group are directed by the intelligentsia 1 s manipulation through the artistic media of specific nationalist ideologies aimed at resolving the problems of the present. In Chapter 8 I discuss the role of the Catholic Church in the politics of identity building, its position in relation to the people's demands of historical and cultural obligations, the dilemmas experienced by the Church in the face of its own tenets and the institutionalized order, and the people's teleological use of religion as techniques of political resistance. I conclude by reasserting that refugee populations such as the East Timorese in having to re-stablish their lives in an alien context would normally strive to function socially according to their perceptions of priority needs, creating in the process new subjective understandings. I stress that this also demonstrates that it is paramount to direct the analysis of ethno-nationalism through a combination of diverse theoretical approaches and that in this form one can better understand the whole set of the people's strategies for identity survival.

This thesis challenges the prevailing academic and journalistic consensus that ASEAN states, bound by a cast-iron norm of non-interference, do not intervene in other states’ internal affairs. It argues that ASEAN states have frequently engaged in acts of intervention, often with very serious, negative consequences. Using methods of critical historical sociology, the thesis reconstructs the history of ASEAN’s non-interference principle and interventions from ASEAN’s inception onwards, drawing on sources including ASEAN and UN documents, US and UK archives, and policymaker interviews. It focuses especially on three case studies: East Timor, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The thesis argues that both the emergence of ideologies of non-intervention and their violation can be explained by the social conflicts animating state policies. Non-interference was developed by embattled, authoritarian, capitalist elites in an attempt to bolster their defence of capitalist social order from radical challenges. Where adherence to non-intervention failed to serve this purpose, it was discarded or manipulated to permit cross-border ‘containment’ operations. After communism was defeated in the ASEAN states, foreign policy continued to promote the interests of dominant, state-linked business groups and oligarchic factions. Non-interference shifted to defend domestic power structures from the West’s liberalising agenda. However, ASEAN elites continued meddling in neighbouring states even as containment operations were discarded. This contributed to the collapse of Cambodia’s ruling coalition in 1997, and ASEAN subsequently intervened to restore it. The 1997 Asian financial crisis dealt a crippling blow to ASEAN. To contain domestic unrest in Indonesia, core ASEAN states joined a humanitarian intervention in East Timor in 1999. In the decade since, non-interference has been progressively weakened as the core members struggle to regain domestic legitimacy and lost international political and economic space. This is expressed most clearly in ASEAN’s attempts to insert itself into Myanmar’s democratisation process after decades of failed ‘constructive engagement’.

Problem Investigated. This dissertation is a study of the political effects of low-intensity warfare in Indonesia since 1945. In particular, it examines the interaction between general principles and contextual variables in guerrilla conflict, to determine whether such conflict causes the diffusion of political power. Analysis of insurgent movements indicates that power structures within a guerrilla group tend to be regionalised, diffuse and based on multiple centres of roughly equal authority. Conversely, studies of counter-insurgency (COIN) techniques indicate that successful COIN depends on effective political control over the local population. This tends to be exercised by regional or local military commanders rather than by central authority. Based on this, the author???s initial analysis indicated that one should expect to see a diffusion of political authority from central leaders (whether civilian or military) to regional military leaders, when a society is engaged in the conduct of either COIN or guerrilla warfare. The problem investigated in this dissertation can therefore be stated thus: To what extent, at which levels of analysis and subject to what influencing factors does low-intensity warfare in Indonesia between 1945 and 1999 demonstrate a political power-diffusion effect? Procedures Followed. The procedure followed was a diachronic, qualitative, fieldwork-based analysis of two principle case studies: the Darul Islam insurgency in West Java 1948-1962 and the campaign in East Timor 1974-1999. Principle research tools were: ??? Semi-structured, formal, informal and group interviews. ??? Analysis of official and private archives in Australia, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the UK. ??? Participant observation using anthropological fieldwork techniques. ??? Geographical analysis using transects, basemapping and overhead imagery. ??? Demographic analysis using historical data, cartographic records and surveys. Research was conducted in Australia, Indonesia (Jakarta and Bandung), the Netherlands (The Hague and Amsterdam) and the United Kingdom (London, Winchester, Salisbury and Warminster). Fieldwork was conducted over three periods in West Java (1994, 1995 and 1996) and one period in East Timor (1999-2000). General Results Obtained. The two principal case studies were the Darul Islam insurgency in West Java 1948-62 and the campaign in East Timor since 1974. The fieldwork data showed that low-intensity warfare in Indonesia between 1945 and 1999 did indeed demonstrate the political power-diffusion effect posited by the author. This effect was triggered by the outbreak of guerrilla warfare, which itself flowed from crises generated by processes of modernisation and change within Indonesian society from traditional hierarchies to modern forms of social organisation. These crises were also affected by events at the systemic and regional levels of analysis ??? the invasion of the Netherlands East Indies by Japan, the Cold War, the Asian financial crisis and increasing economic and media globalisation. They resulted in a breakdown or weakening of formal power structures, allowing informal power structures to dominate. This in turn allowed local elites with economic, social or religious influence and with coercive power over the population, to develop political and military power at the local level while being subject to little control from higher levels. This process, then, represented a power diffusion from central and civilian leadership levels to local leaders with coercive means ??? most often military or insurgent leaders. Having been triggered by guerrilla operations, however, the direction and process by which such power diffusion operated was heavily influenced by contextual variables, of which the most important were geographical factors, political culture, traditional authority structures and the interaction of external variables at different levels of analysis. Topographical isolation, poor infrastructure, severe terrain, scattered population groupings and strong influence by traditional hierarchies tend to accelerate and exacerbate the loss of central control. Conversely good infrastructure, large population centres, good communications and a high degree of influence by nation-state and systemic levels of analysis ??? particularly through economic and governmental institutionalisation ??? tend to slow such diffusion. Moreover, while power may be diffusing at one level of analysis (e.g. nation-state) it may be centralising at another (e.g. into the hands of military leaders at local level). Analysis of the Malayan Emergency indicates that, in a comparable non-Indonesian historical example, the same general tendency to political power diffusion was evident and that the same broad contextual variables mediated it. However, it would be premature to conclude that the process observed in Indonesia is generally applicable. The nature and relative importance of contextual factors is likely to vary between examples and hence additional research on non-Indonesian examples would be necessary before such a conclusion could be drawn. Further research on a current instance of guerrilla operations in Indonesia is also essential before the broader contemporary applicability of these findings can be reliably demonstrated. Major Conclusions Reached. Based on the above, the theses developed to answer the initial problem can be stated thus: The command and control (C2) structures inherent in traditional, dispersed rural guerrilla movements that lack access to mass media or electronic communications tend to lessen the degree of control by central (military or political) leaders over regional leaders. If COIN or Internal Security Operations are conducted, two factors will operate. First, there will be an increase in the degree of control over the civil population by local military leaders, at the expense of local or central political leaders. Second, where military command structures are pyramidal or segmentary, there will be an increase in control by local commanders at the expense of central military leaders. Where the central government is civilian or has interests divergent from the military???s, the first of these factors will dominate. Where the government is military or has interests largely identical to those of the military, the second factor will be dominant. The process of power diffusion can thus be summarised as follows: A crisis driven by processes of societal change or by external causes, leads to the outbreak of violence, one facet of which may include guerrilla operations. If guerrilla operations do occur, the C2 structures inherent in such operations give a high degree of autonomy and independence to local military leaders. The same (or a contemporaneous) crisis produces a breakdown of formal power structures, causing organisations to fall back upon informal power structures. The nature of these informal power structures is determined by geography, political culture, patterns of traditional authority within the society and the degree of interaction of systemic/regional factors with local events. Thus the guerrilla operations and the concomitant breakdown in formal power structures form the trigger for political power diffusion. The precise nature and progress of this diffusion is then determined by contextual variables.

This thesis presents an alternative to prevailing understandings of politics in East Timor in the period 1999-2009. Employing the language of state-building, dominant views posit that the new nation’s ‘crisis’ in 2006 is attributable to a ‘weak state’, arguing that substantial constraints on ‘human development’, a legacy of either the Indonesian period or failures of UN state building, presented insurmountable challenges to ‘capacity building’ which hampered the development of a public administration and other arms of the state. A closely related body of analysis attributes the causes, passage and resolution of ‘crisis’ to actors from the political elite. In this view, intraelite conflict foreclosed the possibility of the crisis’s early resolution, and attributed crisis to bad ‘policy-making’. A second perspective posits that a crisis was the result not of a weak state, but of the disempowerment of a strong civil society, that through ‘networked governance’, a legacy of the resistance network against Indonesia, can be relied on to rule. This thesis suggests that the remarkable uniformity of these analyses can be explained by their having: a) largely overlooked pre-1999 politics; and b) used a liberal perspective in which both abstractions and technical solutions (rule of law, capacity building) are assumed to be able to ‘correct’ ‘problems’ leading to ‘crisis’. This thesis proposes an explanation for contemporary politics found not solely in crisis or peace, but in the past. The postcolonial state is examined through the lens of colonial power relations, in terms of the extent and limits of modern ‘bio-power’. Successive chapters examine health and hygiene, the inculcation of norms and dispositions, family and habitat, and monetization. These themes are related back to state formation across the 20th century, and moreover, to an evaluation of life and death, processes evident throughout the practices of contemporary politics, including being significant in the institution of the postcolonial state. A key site of this power across time has been ‘missionary power’, embedded and semi-autonomous from the colonial state, rather than the Catholic Church per se. The manifold limits of colonial bio-power are identified not only as being a result of the paucity of material resources of the state, therefore, but also colonial ambivalence over subjects, durable relations between (and divergent representations of) missionaries and indigenous authorities, and contradictions between ‘modernity’ and ‘tradition’, all of which are shown to play out in contemporary politics. Through this analysis, the thesis reveals an alternative interpretation of East Timor since 1999, and offers possibilities for considering politics in other postcolonial contexts.

A emergência da democracia em Timor-Leste é um processo ainda recente, apresenta um sistema político multipartidário em que o número de partidos políticos registados já é de 35 partidos e com tendência a crescer em cada período eleitoral. Geograficamente é um pequeno país, com uma área de 14.954,44 km2, e com uma população que é inferior a 1,261 milhões de pessoas, e é também considerado muito heterogéneo em termos sociais, económicos e culturais, atributos que importam realçar em função da clivagem dos partidos políticos. Face a esta especificidade, justifica-se o objetivo de aprofundar o conhecimento sobre a dinâmica dos partidos políticos e participação dos cidadãos com vista a contribuir para uma maior compreensão sobre o processo de consolidação da democracia em Timor-Leste. Para o efeito, aplica-se uma metodologia mista, predominantemente qualitativa, assente numa intensa pesquisa documental e complementada com informação provocada em resposta aos objetivos traçados. O estudo desenvolveu-se o com recurso a dados recolhidos através de entrevistas, com 14 representantes de líderes dos partidos, documentos oficiais dos partidos (estatutos e manuais políticos) e estatísticas publicadas pela Comissão Nacional de Eleições sobre a participação política e dinâmica evolutiva dos partidos políticos em Timor-Leste. Complementarmente são analisadas entrevistas e debates públicos dos líderes políticos divulgados na Radio Televisão Timor Leste- empresa pública (RTTL-ep) no decorrer do último período eleitoral. Os principais resultados do estudo evidenciam que o povo timorense demostra a vontade de presença da democracia, assente num espírito de liberdade política e humanismo que fomenta a motivação dos cidadãos em formar partidos políticos. Estes são um meio institucional para a consolidação da democracia, com vista a prevenir a hegemonia política partidária, promovendo igualdade e participação política no desenvolvimento nacional baseado na identidade cultural. De fato, a representação política partidária no Parlamento Nacional, maioritariamente de ideologia socialista e tendência para um socialismo moderado, evidencia a modalidade política de clientelismo do tipo de partido elite- based;POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN EAST TIMOR. ABSTRACT: The emergence of democracy in Timor-Leste is still a recent process, it presents a multi party-political system in which the number of registered political parties is already 35 parties and with a tendency to grow in each electoral period. Geographically, it is a small country, with an area of 14,954.44 km2, and a population that is less than 1.261 million people, and also considered very heterogeneous in social, economic and cultural terms, attributes that are important to highlight due to the cleavage of the political parties. Given this specificity, the objective of deepening knowledge about the dynamics of political parties and citizen participation is justified, with a view to contributing to a greater understanding of the process of consolidating democracy in Timor-Leste. For this purpose, a mixed methodology is applied, predominantly qualitative, based on intense documental research and complemented with information generated in response to the outlined objectives. The study was published using data collected through declarations, with 14 representatives of party leaders, official documents of the parties (statutes and political manuals) and statistics published by the National Election Commission on political participation and evolutionary dynamics of the parties’ politicians in Timor-Leste. In addition, related issues and public debates of political leaders published on Radio Televisão Timor-Leste – empresa pública (Rttl-ep) during the last electoral period are analyzed. The main result of the study shows that the Timorese people demonstrate the will for the presence of democracy, based on a spirit of political freedom and humanism that fosters the motivation of citizens to form political parties. These are an institutional means for the consolidation of democracy, with a view to preventing party political hegemony, promoting political participation and participation in national development based on cultural identity. In fact, the party politics in the National Parliament, mostly of socialist ideology and tendency towards a moderate socialism, evidences the political modality of clientelism of the elite party type.

Este trabalho tem como escopo analisar, sob o viés dos estudos do discurso e da linguagem, como se edificam discursivamente identidades para o povo leste-timorense. Para tanto, a partir do tratamento qualitativo dos elementos dos corpora, observamos os procedimentos linguístico-discursivos relacionados à ativação/construção/mobilização de frames, à construção de objetos de discurso e à patemização. Nossos corpora são compostos por dez discursos pronunciados por Xanana Gusmão em dois momentos distintos da história de Timor-Leste: no período em que atuou como guerrilheiro durante a ocupação indonésia (entre 1982 e 1993) e, posteriormente, quando ocupou o cargo de Presidente da República (entre 2001 e 2006). O desenvolvimento do trabalho está articulado em torno de cinco eixos de estudo: História, Identidade, Cognição, Análise Crítica do Discurso e Argumentação. Quanto ao aporte teórico, recorremos às pesquisas de Anderson (1993/2009), Chomsky (2015, 1999 e 1987), Durand (2009), Felgas (1956), Magalhães (1999), Ribeiro (2004), SantAnna (1997) e Thomaz (2008 e 2002), para tratar das questões de cunho histórico; no âmbito da identidade, buscamos subsídio, fundamentalmente, nos trabalhos de Moita Lopes (2006), Mendes (2005), Hall (2006, 2000) e Moscovici (2006); no que concerne aos estudos do discurso, relativamente à construção de objetos de discurso e aos frames, como elementos de natureza cognitiva, serviram-nos como fundamento as obras de Fávero (2009), Marcuschi (2007, 2005 e 2002), Aquino (2016 e 1991), Aquino e Palumbo (2018); Koch (2005, 2004, 2002 e 2001), Goffman (2006 [1974]), Fillmore (2009 [1982]) e Mondada e Dubois (2003 [1995]); por fim, no que concerne à argumentação e à análise crítica do discurso, recorremos aos trabalhos de Perelman e Olbrechts-Tyteca (1999 [1958]) van Dijk (2015, 2008, 1994 e 1983), Fairclough (2009) e Aquino (1997), respectivamente. As análises permitiram-nos identificar que os distintos projetos de construção de identidades leste-timorenses representados pelos discursos de Xanana Gusmão nos períodos analisados fundam-se em pelo menos dois frames proeminentes: o de Guerra e o de Família, durante o Período Indonésio, e o de Guerra e o de Povo Genérico, no momento Pós-Indonésio. Desse modo, observamos que a complexidade de que se reveste o conceito de identidade, para além das questões de ordem social e que se refletem nas discursivas, também se deve aos procedimentos discursivos e sociocognitivos que lhe dão forma. Os discursos de Xanana Gusmão, portanto, não apenas discorrem sobre a realidade e os anseios de transformá-la, mas atuam na construção dela, bem como na de seus personagens, atribuindo-lhes identidades que estejam em conformidade com seus projetos de dizer.
This work aims to analyze, as part of the study of discourse and language, how identities are discursively built for East Timorese people. Therefore, from the qualitative treatment of the elements of corpora, the linguistic-discursive procedures are observed related to the activation/construction/mobilization of frames, to the construction of speech objects and to pathemization. Our corpora are composed by ten speeches delivered by Xanana Gusmão in two different moments in the history of East Timor: during his period as a guerrilla during the Indonesian occupation (between 1982 and 1993) and later when he was the President (between 2001 and 2006). The development of this work is articulated around five pillars of research: History, Identity, Cognition, Critical Discourse Analysis and Argumentation. As for the theoretical contribution, we used the research of Anderson (1993/2009), Chomsky (2015, 1999 and 1987), Durand (2009), Felgas (1956), Magalhães (1999), Ribeiro (2004), Sant\'Anna (1997) and Thomaz (2008 and 2002), to deal with historical issues; in the scope of identity, we sought support, fundamentally, in the works of Moita Lopes (2006), Mendes (2005), Hall (2006, 2000) and Moscovici (2006); what concerns discourse studies, regarding the construction of discourse objects and frames, as elements of a cognitive nature, we made use of the works of Fávero (2009), Marcuschi (2007, 2005 and 2002), Aquino (2016 and 1991), Aquino and Palumbo (2018); Koch (2005, 2004, 2002 and 2001), Goffman (2006 [1974]), Fillmore (2009 [1982]) and Mondada and Dubois (2003 [1995]); finally, with regard to the argumentation and critical analysis of the discourse, we resorted to the works of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca (1999 [1958]) van Dijk (2015, 2008, 1994 and 1983), Fairclough (2009) and Aquino (1997). The analyzes allowed us to identify that the distinct projects of construction of the East Timorese identities represented by Xanana Gusmão\'s discourses in the analyzed periods are based on at least two prominent frames: War and Family, during the \"Indonesian Period\" , and War and Generic People, in the \"Post-Indonesian\" period. Thus, we observe that the complexity of the concept of identity, beyond social issues and reflected in the discourses, is also due to the discursive and socio-cognitive procedures that shape them. The discourses of Xanana Gusmão, therefore, not only discuss the reality and the yearnings to transform it, but act in the construction of it, as well as of its characters, attributing to them identities that are in conformity with his speech project.

In 1975 Indonesian forces invaded Dili, the capital of East Timor. The invasion and ensuing occupation forced thousands of East Timorese to leave their homes and seek refuge in Australia and other countries. This study considers the situation of a particular group of East Timorese refugees: those who fled to Australia during the 1990s and who were children or young adolescents at the time of their flight. Founded upon an understanding of social identity as being constantly transformed though a dialectic relation between the individual and his or her sociocultural surroundings, this dissertation considers the consequences of refugee experiences on individual identity and belonging, as well as the processes of conceptualising self and negotiating identity within changing social and cultural structures. The relationship between conflict and flight, resettlement, acculturation, identity and attachment is explored, and particular attention is given to issues of socialisation and categorisation, age and agency, hybridity, and ambiguity. Through a qualitative anthropological methodology informed by theories of cultural identity, adolescence and cross-cultural socialisation, the thesis seeks to shed light on the various dynamics that have influenced the young East Timorese people’s identity and sense of belonging, and considers the impact of acculturation and socialisation into a new culture at a critical period of the young people’s lives.
Masters Thesis

In 1975 Indonesian forces invaded Dili, the capital of East Timor. The invasion and ensuing occupation forced thousands of East Timorese to leave their homes and seek refuge in Australia and other countries. This study considers the situation of a particular group of East Timorese refugees: those who fled to Australia during the 1990s and who were children or young adolescents at the time of their flight. Founded upon an understanding of social identity as being constantly transformed though a dialectic relation between the individual and his or her sociocultural surroundings, this dissertation considers the consequences of refugee experiences on individual identity and belonging, as well as the processes of conceptualising self and negotiating identity within changing social and cultural structures. The relationship between conflict and flight, resettlement, acculturation, identity and attachment is explored, and particular attention is given to issues of socialisation and categorisation, age and agency, hybridity, and ambiguity. Through a qualitative anthropological methodology informed by theories of cultural identity, adolescence and cross-cultural socialisation, the thesis seeks to shed light on the various dynamics that have influenced the young East Timorese people’s identity and sense of belonging, and considers the impact of acculturation and socialisation into a new culture at a critical period of the young people’s lives.
Masters Thesis

Com o fim da Guerra-Fria uma série de conflitos surge em diferentes pontos do globo. Em sua maioria eles são de natureza intra-estatal, marcados por alto grau de violência e com múltiplos atores envolvidos. Acompanha essa nova realidade a adoção de uma postura coercitiva por parte da Organização das Nações Unidas, doravante comum nas chamadas intervenções humanitárias. A partir deste quadro propõe-se aqui analisar os fatores constitutivos desses conflitos, representados em dois estudos de casos emblemáticos do tema em foco, Somália (1992) e Timor Leste (1999), bem como o comportamento da ONU em face desses novos desafios. O fio condutor de toda a pesquisa consistiu em demonstrar sua principal hipótese: o sucesso dos processos de resolução de conflitos chefiados pela ONU foi comprovado somente em episódios nos quais a organização internacional considerou outros recursos além do uso da força militar e enfatizou abordagens mais abrangentes, as quais consideravam atores da sociedade civil originários de diversas camadas sociais.
The end of the Cold War is followed by many internal conflicts around the world. Most of these conflicts, are characterized by a high level of violence and composed by actors from different origins. This work is an analysis of coercive power in humanitarian interventions, ruled by the United Nations, concerning conflict resolution process and humanitarian interventions undertaken in East Timor (1999) and in Somalia (1992). The main goal is to discuss the reasons why United Nations used military force in humanitarian interventions, as well as to highlight the approach to conflict resolution processes developed by international organizations. This work argues that conflict resolution processes tend to be successful when they are based on a broader approach, which concerns actors form civil society, coming from different social origins.

The research investigates in what extent and how communication for meeting feelings is provided in Truth Commission work. It examines if and in what way feelings are addressed in the communication officially published by the Truth Commissions in East Timor, Ghana and Sri Lanka, occurring between 2002-2011. The research is also looking at the healing processes in a time perspective to find out if there is a communication for Societal healing to be continued in a longer term. My conclusion is that two cases of three in my research, the TRCs in Ghana and East Timor, have communication clearly directed to meet feelings caused by the war. One of the three cases (East Timor) has a communication with a clear ambition to heal over a longer period, to continue after the existence of the Truth Commission. The research suggests that communication with a clear ambition to reach out widely in the society, a communication directed to meet and process feelings over a longer period, can make Societal healing more effective. It also concludes that, in the future, Societal healing, as a field in conflict resolution, will be more based on representational media than today, provided through web communication.

Yes
Poor people attempting to claim a share of resources in post-conflict societies seek allies internationally and nationally in attempts to empower their campaigns. In so doing, they mobilize the languages of liberalism, nationalism and local cultural tradition selectively and opportunistically to both justify stances that transgress the strictures of local culture and to cement alliances with more powerful actors. In the case of poor widows in East Timor, the languages of nationalism, ritual, and justice were intermingled in a campaign aimed at both international actors and the national state in a bid to claim a position of status in the post-conflict order.

This thesis examines the local reception of international state-building in post-1999 East Timor. Contemporary literature on state-building and peace-building has largely concentrated on the structure of state institutions and activities by international actors and local elites. Drawing upon various sources of data including field research and historical and anthropological literature, this thesis explores Timorese society's relationship with the modern state, which was built under international and national auspices. It demonstrates the significant impact of local culture of governance on the local reception of state institutions, and elucidates a variety of factors that uphold the culture of governance. In order to grapple with the malleable and ever-contested nature of local culture, this thesis analyses state-building as an interactive process between state and society and involving a number of actors, thereby forming and reforming the local culture of governance. The local culture of governance was heavily influenced by the nation's colonial past. Democratic state institution-building reflected post-colonial characteristics of political culture; electoral democracy was continuously projected with, and redefined through, the sense of nation-ness, which had a strong emphasis on unity over diversity. Like many other post-conflict societies, large parts of East Timor had maintained viable customary forms of governance based on a kinship community. Village institutions built in the post-1999 period therefore became an intersection where the 'universal' ideas of governance, such as democracy and gender equality, met 'traditional' norms of governance. The local subsistence agriculture-based economy was also a key component in the resilient local 'traditional' culture. State judicial institutions were not particularly active in rural areas due to conceptual gaps and lack of infrastructural backing. Crucially, the significant presence of the international community and the introduction of the neo-liberal market economy in post-1999 East Timor also brought about rapid change in the culture of governance, influencing the local society's relationship with state institutions. In short, informed by the history of colonialism and embedded in socio-economic structures, the local culture of governance had significant implications for the way in which local society engaged with the state. Such findings encourage scholars to reconsider the idea that a particular set of state institutions inevitably brings about stability and peace in conflict-torn societies.

This thesis focuses on CNRT’s displacement of FRETILIN as the dominant political player in Timor-Leste in 2007. CNRT, which led the coalition governments of 2007 and 2012, ended the political pre-eminence FRETILIN had won in 2001 on the basis of its prominence in the independence struggle. This thesis addresses three key questions with regard to the dynamics of political party interactions in Timor-Leste. First, what factors explain both change and stability in the party system? Second, why did FRETILIN’s political fortunes decline while those of CNRT rose? And third, what factors explain the strength and longevity of individual parties in Timor-Leste? Drawing on a variety of sources, including data obtained during fieldwork in Timor-Leste in both 2012 and 2013, this thesis argues that three main factors explain changes in the party system: absence or presence of charismatic leadership, the identity of the nation-building and state-building project and the operation of networks of distributive politics and patronage. These three factors were crucial in causing FRETILIN’s decline and facilitating CNRT’s near fulfillment of achieving the status of a dominant party. On the matter of party longevity, this thesis argues that while FRETILIN is positioned to carry on coherently into the future, the foundations of the other parties are shaky and their future durability looks precarious. The significance of this thesis is two-fold. First, it fills a gap in existing literature on Timor-Leste by providing a formal and contemporary analysis of political parties and the country’s party system. Second, this thesis throws light on the character and fate of dominant parties in the context of newly independent countries.

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.

This dissertation project examines the role of identity, the politics of identity contestation and domestic political structures as part of the mechanisms and processes that may be involved in the decisions that states make regarding disengagement from their colonial and territorial possessions. Specifically, it focuses on the following questions: Why do intransigent states back down on previously entrenched territorial policies? And why, even when states decide to disengage from their territories, are some of these processes peaceful while others are scenes of prolonged, bloody and violent struggles? Focusing on Britain and its reaction to Indian calls for independence from 1929-1935, and Indonesia's withdrawal from East Timor in 1999, this project argues that the processes and mechanisms involved in identity construction, maintenance and change can play an important role in how states approach the issue of territorial disengagement. At the same time, it also argues that the structure of a state's domestic political system may also affect the way in which disengagement takes places. Based on its empirical findings, this dissertation also argues that identities are constructed at both the domestic as well as the international levels, and against an Other, and through narratives. Further, identities do not acquire 'substance' once they have been constructed. Rather they are continually constituted by processes, relations and practices as identities are defined, recognized and validated in an actor's interaction with and in relationship to others. Finally, identity does not only influence human actions through enabling or constraining actions but also through the need to perform who we are or who we say we want to be.

This thesis gives a brief scenario of events which culminated in the invasion of East Timor by the Indonesian armed forces in December 1975. It looks at the nature of the consequences of life under Indonesian occupation; examines the quality and nature of the resistance by the East Timorese people against their new coloniser; examines the leadership of the resistance movement and its re-structuring and examines the role of the United Nations and international diplomacy. There is also a discussion of East Timor in the context of global politics and the National Council of Maubere Resistance Peace Plan.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This study considers the situation of a group of East Timorese exiles living in Melbourne, Australia, who left East Timor or were born in exile from the time of the 1975 civil war up to the end of the Indonesian occupation of the territory in 1999. During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, diasporic groups played a central role in the campaign for self-determination. Throughout the occupation, East Timorese in Australia maintained a strong sense of long-distance nationalism, which drove, directly or indirectly, communal cultural and social activities. The fight to free East Timor was at the core of the exiles’ collective imagination, defining them as a largely homeland focused community. However, in the aftermath of independence, many have struggled to find their place and role in relation to the independent nation. Personal experiences upon return, perceptions of political, cultural, economic and social development (or lack thereof), and political unrest and communal violence have led to renewed questioning of identity and belonging. The thesis explores this new questioning of identity and belonging and, through ethnographic field research with East Timorese living in Melbourne, it explores how the exiles experience and respond to the social and political changes in their country of origin. The research for the thesis was conducted during a period of conflict and national upheaval in East Timor, and the dissertation pays particular attention to how violence and unrest at home manifest in the exiles’ lives and affect their experience of self, community and nation. The thesis explores how past socialisation and practice within social fields that are characterised by an emphasis on communalism, morality and reciprocity form part of present agency. It considers how potential contradictions between past imaginaries and lived realities can lead to intensely felt emotions, which may further advance the process of negotiation and transformation of identity and boundaries of belonging. Through an analysis of linked conceptualisations of self, emotions and national narratives, the thesis seeks to shed light on the exiles’ engagement with and relationship to independent East Timor. It aims to inform contemporary understandings of the processes of change that occur within diasporic communities at times of radical political change in the exiles’ home countries.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
This study considers the situation of a group of East Timorese exiles living in Melbourne, Australia, who left East Timor or were born in exile from the time of the 1975 civil war up to the end of the Indonesian occupation of the territory in 1999. During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, diasporic groups played a central role in the campaign for self-determination. Throughout the occupation, East Timorese in Australia maintained a strong sense of long-distance nationalism, which drove, directly or indirectly, communal cultural and social activities. The fight to free East Timor was at the core of the exiles’ collective imagination, defining them as a largely homeland focused community. However, in the aftermath of independence, many have struggled to find their place and role in relation to the independent nation. Personal experiences upon return, perceptions of political, cultural, economic and social development (or lack thereof), and political unrest and communal violence have led to renewed questioning of identity and belonging. The thesis explores this new questioning of identity and belonging and, through ethnographic field research with East Timorese living in Melbourne, it explores how the exiles experience and respond to the social and political changes in their country of origin. The research for the thesis was conducted during a period of conflict and national upheaval in East Timor, and the dissertation pays particular attention to how violence and unrest at home manifest in the exiles’ lives and affect their experience of self, community and nation. The thesis explores how past socialisation and practice within social fields that are characterised by an emphasis on communalism, morality and reciprocity form part of present agency. It considers how potential contradictions between past imaginaries and lived realities can lead to intensely felt emotions, which may further advance the process of negotiation and transformation of identity and boundaries of belonging. Through an analysis of linked conceptualisations of self, emotions and national narratives, the thesis seeks to shed light on the exiles’ engagement with and relationship to independent East Timor. It aims to inform contemporary understandings of the processes of change that occur within diasporic communities at times of radical political change in the exiles’ home countries.

This study investigates the nature and the outcomes of the devolution of forestry authority to local governments under Indonesia's most recent and far-reaching decentralisation initiatives, put in place in 1999. The research focuses on the dynamics of the relationships between district governments and other actors in that context, based on case studies of the forest-rich Bulungan and Kutai Barat Districts, East Kalimantan. The adverse outcomes for both forests and local communities of the previous centralised forest governance regime under Indonesia's New Order Government, have been profound and well documented. Indonesia's most recent experiment with decentralisation, often referred to as regional autonomy, provided an opportunity for decentralized forestry regimes that many believed and hoped would improve forest management and provide benefits for local communities. Although there are many studies examining the devolution of forestry governance to the community or village levels, few focus on the transfer of forestry powers to the local government level. The research framework developed for this study integrated three approaches in the analysis of decentralisation of natural resources governance. The first of these is that proposed by Agrawal and Ribot (1999), which emphasizes the analytical dimensions of actors, power, and accountability. The second is the institutional analysis suggested by Manor (1999), focusing on aspects of democratic, administrative and fiscal decentralisation. The third is a model for decentralized forest management suggested by Larson (2003b), highlighting the power relations among actors. The research focuses on the initial period of decentralisation, from 1999 to 2004, using a qualitative case study approach. The changes to the political, administrative, and fiscal framework resulting from decentralisation have had a profound effect on the dynamics of forest governance in Indonesia. The most dramatic changes were in control of access to timber resources: this moved from the Centre to the districts, and then largely back again. Districts also enjoyed significantly augmented fiscal powers and increased share of forestry revenue. During the period that substantial powers were formally devolved to the district level, the two case study district governments exploited the space created by their decentralized mandates quite effectively; as a result, local actors were increasingly important in district decisions, and more benefits accrued to the local level. However, many of the accountability outcomes expected to follow decentralisation did not eventuate. Few downward accountability mechanisms, held to be critical for improved natural resource management, were found to be effective in the case study districts. Thus, at least during the first few years of decentralisation, increased control of access to forest resources and greater share of forestry-derived revenue did not improve forest management in the study districts. The study revealed dynamic and fluid forest politics at the district level. District forestry decision-making and operations have reflected the interplay between the legal-regulatory framework, relations between the Centre and district governments, and relations between and among actors at the district level. Organisational and individual actors each have their own interests and objectives shaping forestry decisions and operations at the district level, and these are well-illustrated in the research case studies. The ambiguity and inconsistency of the legal-regulatory framework, and the reluctance of Central actors to forgo powers, have resulted in tensions and a bitter power struggle between the district governments and the Centre. One of the important consequences has been that district actors have perceived their window of opportunity to be insecure, and have thus vigorously pursued short-term benefits from forest exploitation. Despite the Centre's efforts to retain and subsequently regain its powers, the case study district governments were able to develop strategies and tactics, at least for a period, to continue to ensure they and other local-level actors benefited from regional autonomy. Power relations between and among actors have determined the ways in which timber politics have been shaped at the district level. Local actors have increasingly influenced district government decision-making and forestry operations in the districts, and have destabilized the previously firm position of centrally-linked actors operating at the district level. In one district, the influence of extra-legal actors was significant and largely unchecked. However, as decentralisation progressed, the Centre's policies have ultimately determined district decisions, above and beyond local actors' influences. Forest exploitation has thus continued at the district level, at the expense of longer-term sustainability of the forests. Given the absence of strong downward accountability mechanisms, vertical accountability to the judiciary has been the most effective mechanism in keeping districts' forestry powers in check. The research conducted for this thesis suggests that the research framework developed here has shown useful in the analysis of forest governance dynamics at the district level under the decentralisation regime. Both de jure and de facto powers were taken into account in analysing how decentralisation has been played out, and this proved to be important. The institutional analysis that advances the importance of decentralised financial powers, and analysis of the role of various accountability relations beyond conventional downward accountability were relevant and useful. Further research, however, could be useful in determining how downward accountability in these contexts can explain the direct causal-effect linkages between local-level governance and NRM. The outcomes of this study also suggest that it would be desirable to investigate the incentives and motivations likely to lead to improved NRM under local forest governance. This is particularly relevant given the emphasis on avoided deforestation and reforestation in Indonesia. Finally, the rapidly evolving nature of Indonesia's decentralisation, and its progression beyond the early phase investigated by this research, suggest that it will be important to establish whether the outcomes and trends reported here will continue as they have during this initial period, or whether they will change as the decentralisation process and associated institutions mature.

Face ao ambiente internacional cada vez mais complexo e altamente ancorado nos fluxos de informação, ao longo dos tempos, os meios de comunicação foram-se assumindo como uma importante forma de estar e atuar na arena internacional e na política externa. No entanto, embora esta complexa relação entre os media e o poder político tenha sido muito abordada nos Estudos da Comunicação, no campo das Relações Internacionais, diversas dimensões continuam por explorar. Uma das questões que se impõe é acerca do modo como os media, e em particular as agências de notícias, podem intervir na política externa quer como participantes ativos e com poder de influência, quer como um instrumento/canal para a concretização das estratégias dos Estados ou de outros agentes políticos. A presente investigação trata de tal relacionamento, atentando em particular na situação de Portugal, tendo como caso de estudo a agência de notícias de serviço público, Lusa, e a sua relação com a política externa portuguesa a propósito de um acontecimento específico da sua história – o processo de independência de Timor Leste. Assim, o contributo que se pretende trazer à discussão desta temática parte da seguinte pergunta de investigação: “Qual o contributo e o papel desempenhado pela agência noticiosa Lusa, enquanto entidade prestadora de um serviço público de informação, a nível da política externa (portuguesa) no processo de Timor Leste?”. A tese defendida é a de que, se, por um lado, a Lusa procurou atuar com independência e de acordo com os cânones do jornalismo, afigurando-se como um ator relevante e participativo no processo timorense, por outro, não deixou de ser considerada no plano estratégico da PEP como um importante canal de veiculação das posições do Estado português, ponte e possibilitadora da mobilização da opinião pública e como uma fonte de informação primordial, sendo um exemplo de como a relação da política externa com os media é ambígua, diversa e marcada por dinâmicas de influência e interdependência com repercussões relevantes sobre a atividade e outros aspetos de PE. Esta é uma investigação exploratória-descritiva, cujo objetivo mais geral consiste no lançamento do debate e das primeiras pistas acerca do papel das agências noticiosas no âmbito da PE – temática ainda pouco explorada pela literatura –, ou seja, sobre a complexidade das interações entre as esferas política e mediática no seio do sistema internacional. Para tal, foi seguida uma abordagem que compatibilizou perspetivas de diversas áreas, nomeadamente abordagens da Foreign Policy Analysis, do Realismo Neoclássico e do Construtivismo (das RI e da PE), a perspetiva da influência mútua entre media-política (do campo da Comunicação) e os recursos conceptuais propostos pela Análise Crítica do Discurso.
Due to the increasingly complex international environment, highly anchored in the information flows, over the years, the media have assumed themselves as an important way of being and acting in the international arena and in the foreign policy. However, although this complex relationship between the media and political power has been extensively addressed in Communication Studies, several dimensions are yet to be explored in the field of International Relations. One of the questions that needs attention is about how the media, and in particular news agencies, can intervene in foreign policy, either as active and influential participants, or as an instrument/channel to execute States or other political actors' strategies. The present investigation focuses in such relationship, paying particular attention to the Portugal’s situation, considering a case study about the public service news agency, Lusa, and its relationship with the portuguese foreign policy regarding a specific event in its history – the East Timor independence process. The contribution that we intend to bring to the discussion of this theme lies in the following research question: “What was the contribution and role played by the Lusa news agency, as an entity providing a public information service, in terms of (the portuguese) foreign policy in the East Timor process?”. In this thesis it’s argued that, on the one hand, Lusa sought to act independently and in accordance with the canons of journalism, acting as a relevant and participative actor in the timorese process, on the other hand, it was considered in the strategic plan of the portuguese foreign policy as an important channel for the dissemination of the positions of the portuguese State, as a bridge and enabling the mobilization of public opinion and as a source of primary information, being an example of how the relationship between foreign policy and the media is ambiguous, diverse and marked by dynamics of influence and interdependence with relevant repercussions on the activity and other aspects of foreign policy. This is an exploratorydescriptive investigation, with the general goal of launching the debate and the first clues about the role of news agencies within the scope of the foreign policy – a theme that is yet to be explored further in the literature –, that is, about the complexity of interactions between political and media spheres within the international system. In order to do so, the approach followed brought together perspectives from different areas, namely approaches from Foreign Policy Analysis, Neoclassical Realism and Constructivism (from IR and FP), the perspective of mutual influence between media-politics (from the field of Communication) and the conceptual resources proposed by Critical Discourse Analysis.

This study is about the impact of decentralisation on the business sector in the district of Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. It presents three themes in exploring changes related to business people during the early implementation of the policy: (1) services and local regulations related to the business sector and the business people's responses; (2) corruption at the local level and its effect on business people; and (3) emerging patterns of local government-business relations. In theory, decentralisation can bring the government closer to the people. It will make better information available on the people's preferences for services provided by the government. It will also enhance accountability and reduce corruption in the government since people can more easily control local governments' actions than those of the central government's. Devolving power to the local government will change the relationship structure between government and business. However, in practice, the study found that decentralisation does not necessarily lead to positive impacts on the business sector. Ethnographic approaches were applied to gather and analyse data during the fieldwork. They included documentation investigation, surveys and in-depth interviews. Fieldwork in Sidoarjo was conducted from November 2001 to July 2002. Current issues related to the Sidoarjo government have been explored through Indonesian newspapers up to January 2005. The research found that, in terms of services provided by the local government, the results are mixed. The local government has espoused two contradictory policies. Business-related services have been restructured to encourage the existing business people and to invite new investors. Local taxes and levies have also been reformed to increase local government revenue, but they have at the same time hampered business activities. A certain group of business people can enjoy the facilitation of services, but others do not. Most medium-large businesses suffer a lot from the new local regulations associated with the increases in local taxes and levies, whereas small businesses have not been affected. Business people see corruption as a common phenomenon and regard it as having mushroomed during the early implementation of decentralisation. Actors involved are not only people in the bureaucracy but also those in the local assembly, in NGOs, and journalists. However, corruption is not always seen as a bad thing. The perception of business people towards corruption depends on whether it directly affects their business activities or not. Regarding the local government-business relations patterns, evidence in this study shows that they do not form a simple picture. It depends on what type of business is involved. For local contractors, their relations with the local government have changed. They are not subordinates of the local government any more and they can influence the local government policy openly and collectively through their business representation. Medium-large businesses hold a different model of relations with the local government. They are represented formally in the determination of the minimum standard of wages. Interestingly, the way the. business people respond to the decisions is not collectively through their business representation. Rather, they use individual connections and covert relations with local government officials. In contrast, small businesses are not greatly affected by the policy of decentralisation. The local government has paid little attention to them, and they also do not rely on the local government. In short, whether the decentralisation policy exists or not, their business activities go on as usual. In general, decentralisation has had different impacts on local government regulations related to business activities. However, positive changes in business-related services have been nullified by the increases in local taxes and levies. Corruption has not decreased, but tends to involve more actors at the local level. From the business people's perspective, both changes in local regulations and policies as well as in the extent of corruption have been perceived differently according to the different types of business. Decentralisation has also brought about new emerging models of relations between local government and the business sector. The findings of this research are important for the existing debates on decentralisation. Although decentralisation is believed to improve development at the local level, this is not necessary true in relation to business activities. Devolving power to local governments has produced distortive policies that make it difficult for business people to run their business. The problems of decentralisation come from an unbalanced structure, that is providing local governments with more employees but lacking financial capacity. Local power holders also tend to misuse their power.