Academic literature on the topic 'Timor Timur (Indonesia) Politics and government'

The exodus of East Timorese refugees after the 1999 referendum to Indonesia left a problem till now. International refugee affairs agencies, the Indonesian government, and non-governmental organizations have helped repatriate refugees. But many refugees do not want to return and choose to stay in Indonesia, among them they choose to stay in the border area in Sukabitetek Village, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. In a study through an ethnographic approach to the former East Timorese refugee community in the following Sukabitetek, it was explained about strengthening identity and social segregation in the interaction between former East Timorese refugees and local people. Resettlement policies for refugees that are top down and tend to pay less attention to the needs of refugees cause social problems, namely land access, economy and education, economic and political commodification, and social conflict.

Indonesian struggle for West Irian was an essential aspect of Indonesian politics since early fifties. Indonesian Government managed to annex West Irian in the sixties due to a substantial material, technical and diplomatic support by the Soviet Union. The USSR stopped its support in 1965, when Indonesian Army under command of General Suharto undertook a terrific massacre of Indonesian communists, backed by the USA. The first President of Indonesia Sukarno was removed from his post. Suharto turned President and proclaimed the New Order (Orde Baru), manifesting itself in the Army rule over the nation. Despite strong positions of Suharto and his associates, there were many different factions in the Army, while Suharto managed to dismiss all disloyal generals. He also instituted new military orders to praise his loyal servants — The Navy Star (Bintang Jalasena), the Army Meritorious Service Star (Bintang Kartika Eka Pakçi), and Air Force Star (Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa) — in 1968. A year later, the West Irian open vote confirmed its joining with Indonesia, supported by the Indonesian military surveyors and army presence. Till the end of the sixties, there were constant tensions in West Timor. Indonesian Government instituted two campaign medals for operations in this area — the Satya Dharma Medal and the Raksaka Dharma / GOM IX Medal. The paper examines these two decorations and their context.

<strong>English</strong><br />From the agrarian politic history view, the eastern region of Indonesia has a relatively strong competition potential in the global arena. However, since the past five decades, the capacity of socio-economic-politic-culture of the eastern region of Indonesia was degraded to the lowest level. The political planning concern of the central government in the agrarian resource development management is the obstacle point to allow serious implication on social gap and backwardness. The agrarian politic set back in the western part of Indonesia has a heavy influence on the community’s socio-economic livelihood who are depending on local agrarian resources. The prominent ability of several local kings of kingdoms in the eastern Indonesia to perform agricultural trade at a global level during the period of 15-18 centuries has no longer existed. In the future, a strong political support is required to reform agrarian development planning for the eastern region of Indonesia. The plan should cover: First, the vision and direction to establish a strong, self-support, high competitive, fair, and sustainable industrial community based on the existing agrarian resource management. Second, to produce high value of agrarian products, manage by integrated organizations, use high technology and innovation, apply sharing system on collective assets, and select appropriate business adjusted to the existing local agro-ecosystems. Third, strengthen infrastructure networks, support financial institutions, and apply law enforcement in accordance with good governance in a decentralized government administration. Fourth, to establish the community’s rights to express their political opinion and aspiration, to involve in organization (economic, society, and politic), and support on local wisdom. Fifth, to perform policies that integrates agrarian management, safety and defense, and the empowerment of civil society in the eastern part of Indonesia.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Indonesian</strong><br />Dilihat dari sejarah politik agraria, kawasan timur Indonesia mempunyai potensi daya kompetisi relatif kuat dalam “pertarungan” global. Hanya saja, sejak lima dekade terakhir secara sosio-ekonomi-politik-budaya kawasan timur Indonesia berbalik menjadi sangat memprihatinkan. Kepedulian politik perencanaan pemerintah pusat dalam pengembangan pengelolaan sumber daya agraria setempat tampaknya menjadi titik lemah yang berimplikasi serius terhadap munculnya keterbelakangan dan kesenjangan sosial. Kemunduran politik agraria yang terjadi di kawasan barat Indonesia berimbas sangat berat terhadap tingkat kehidupan sosial-ekonomi masyarakat berbasis pengelolaan sumber daya agraria setempat. Kehebatan kemajuan perdagangan produk agraris yang dikendalikan secara politik di tingkat global oleh beberapa kerajaan di kawasan timur Indonesia pada rentang abad 15-18 saat ini sudah hampir tidak tersisa lagi. Pada masa mendatang perlu dukungan politik yang kuat untuk merumuskan kembali perencanaan pembangunan agraria di kawasan timur Indonesia. Substansi perencanaan mencakup: Pertama, visi dan arah yang mengutamakan terbentuknya masyarakat industrial berbasis pengelolaan sumber daya agraria yang kuat, mandiri, berdaya saing tinggi, adil, dan berkelanjutan. Kedua, dihasilkannya produk agraria bernilai tambah tinggi, dikelola dengan organisasi yang utuh (tidak tersekat-sekat), sarat dengan muatan iptek tinggi, penguasaan aset secara kolektif dengan sharing system yang lebih adil, serta pilihan usaha yang sesuai dengan kekayaan agroekosistem setempat. Ketiga, dilakukan penguatan terhadap jaringan infrastruktur, kelembagaan modal finansial, penegakan hukum, serta good governance dalam penyelenggaraan pemerintahan yang desentralistik. Keempat, penguatan hak-hak warga dalam berpendapat dan beraspirasi secara politik, berorganisasi (ekonomi, kemasyarakatan, dan politik), serta pemberdayaan aspek kearifan lokal. Kelima, kebijakan politik yang mengintegrasikan pengelolaan agraria, pertahanan dan keamanan, serta penguatan civil society di kawasan timur Indonesia.

The historiography of Indonesian political diplomacy in the Middle-East regions faces obstacles from the researchers themselves. The perspective contradictions are compounded by sorting data and sources. The appearance of Indonesian political diplomacy in the Middle East regions according to the Middle East researchers and academics themselves seems to be gloomy and lethargic, because they demand more than what Indonesia has achieved and done. Indonesia is considered not too interested in contributing to the recovery of conflict countries and the acceleration of the transition to democratic values. According to the other researchers who are not based on the Middle East institutions, the appearance of Indonesian political diplomacy in the Middle East is quite positive and slightly vague. Unlike the case with the version that came out directly from the Government of the Republic of Indonesia about their achievements and performance in building diplomatic relations with related countries in the Middle East. Some achievements are recorded annually and submitted to the public in their annual reports. The constraints in historical writing can be overcome by the historical reasoning approach which tries to examine reason, thought and awareness, and which not only focuses on historical facts and events themselves. This approach is able to map the narrative contestation and discourse ideology, and find solutions to the problems.

As initially, Australia supported the integration of Timor Leste into the Republic of Indonesia, many events occurred which caused the relationship between Indonesia and Australia to be slightly disturbed. The changes that have taken place in Australia's relationship with Indonesia illustrate the real effects of Timor-Leste's independence. As a result of Australia's role in the East Timorese independence process, its relationship underwent many changes, especially in the political and military fields. The changes taking place in military relations are evident. The Agreement on Mutual Security (AMS) was released, the joint training was canceled, and the troops that used to work together became enemies. Eventually, Australian arms sales to Indonesia were stopped. Changes in the political and diplomatic sphere, including all political visits, were canceled, and politicians within Australia and Indonesia publicly denounced others. Furthermore, cooperation within the global framework is limited, and the Ambassador's 'high alert' status is. Overall, Australia's relations with Indonesia became hostile. This study aims to determine how the influence of Australian foreign policy on Indonesia after the independence of Timor Leste. This research shows that the independence of Timor Leste and Australia's role in this process directly influenced government relations between Australia and Indonesia. Most Indonesians view the Australian government's actions and policies as separate from its relationship with Australian citizens.

As initially, Australia supported the integration of Timor Leste into the Republic of Indonesia, many events occurred which caused the relationship between Indonesia and Australia to be slightly disturbed. The changes that have taken place in Australia's relationship with Indonesia illustrate the real effects of Timor-Leste's independence. As a result of Australia's role in the East Timorese independence process, its relationship underwent many changes, especially in the political and military fields. The changes taking place in military relations are evident. First, the Agreement on Mutual Security (AMS) was released. Second, the joint training was cancelled, and the troops that used to work together became enemies. Eventually, Australian arms sales to Indonesia were stopped. Changes in the political and diplomatic sphere, including all political visits, were cancelled, and politicians within Australia and Indonesia publicly denounced others. Furthermore, cooperation within the global framework is limited, and the Ambassador's 'high alert' status is. Overall, Australia's relations with Indonesia became hostile. This study aims to determine how the influence of Australian foreign policy on Indonesia after the independence of Timor Leste. This research shows that the independence of Timor Leste and Australia's role in this process directly influenced government relations between Australia and Indonesia. Most Indonesians view the Australian government's actions and policies as separate from its relationship with Australian citizens. However, the relationship between people must still be considered when making policies about Indonesia because of widespread reactions to Australia's role in the East Timorese independence process.

ABSTRACTThis study aims to examine the policy synergy between the Provincial Government of East Java and the Central Government in dealing with Covid-19. The urgency of this study is to explain to what extent policies between the Local Governments and the Central Government are in sync. This research uses legal research methods. Primary data includes statutory regulations, especially the Law on Health quarantine and secondary data such as previous research, expert opinion, and other relevant document data. This study concludes that the East Java Provincial Government and the Central Government have a synergy in dealing with Covid-19 in Indonesia. However, neither the legal products that are produced nor policies that are political in nature do not conflict with one another. ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji sinergitas kebijakan antara Pemerintah Provinsi Jawa Timur dengan Pemerintah Pusat dan dalam menghadapi Covid-19. Urgensi penelitian ini adalah menjelaskan sejauhmana kebijakan antara Pemerintah Pusat dan Pemerintah Daerah sinkron. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian hukum. Data primer mencakup peraturan perundang-undangan terutama Undang-undang tentang karantina Kesehatan dan data sekunder seperti penelitian terdahulu, pendapat para pakar, dan data dokumen lain yang relevan. Kajian ini menyimpulkan bahwa Pemerintah Provinsi Jawa Timur maupun Pemerintah Pusat memiliki sinergi dalam menangani Covid-19 di Indonesia. Baik produk hukum yang dihasilkan maupun kebijakan yang bersifat politis, tidak bertentangan satu sama lain.

The purpose of this study were 1) To explain the role of the notary and responsibilities similarity in Indonesia and Timor Leste, 2) To explain the different roles and responsibilities of notaries in Indonesia and Timor Leste. The approach I use in the preparation of the writing of this legal research is a normative legal research, as in the study of law conceived as normative regulations and as written norms created and promulgated by an agency or by the competent state authorities. This research is descriptive research that aims to paint a picture of the state of things on certain areas and at certain times. Based on the results of this study were 1) Equation notary's role and responsibilities in Indonesia and Timor Leste. In Indonesia since 2004 has passed a law concerning Notary. But in Timor Leste began in 2009 Decree-Act No. 24/2009, dated August 26, set political guidelines for Timor-Leste's notary system and assigning to the Government the responsibility to set political guidelines specified in this legal diploma. 2) The different roles and responsibilities of notaries in Indonesia and Timor Leste. On the side of this difference can describe that, it is a rule that is very effective to help the public in understanding the roles and responsibilities of notaries in force in the country, especially in Indonesia is quite effective in establishing the truth related to his profession.Keywords: Comparison; Roles; Responsibilities; Notary.

Many factors contributed to the timing, in August 1999, of the referendum in Timor-Leste that led to the country’s independence; among them: Suharto’s abdication, Indonesia’s vulnerability to pressure after the East Asian economic crisis, Indonesia’s confidence that it will prevail using its usual methods of intimidation and manipulation, and, of course, the political and armed struggle of who supported and died for independence in Timor-Leste. Another element was the solidarity networks that emerged among activists from various countries who exerted internal pressure on their governments to force them to change their policy towards Indonesia. This article examines the East Timor Action Network, founded in 1991 in the United States, and its lobbying and internal pressure strategy. Building on Sikkink and Keck’s model of principle-based issue networks and their ability to exert domestic pressure for international results, this article shows how the Network successfully lobbied for change in US foreign policy toward Indonesia and contributed to the selfdetermination in Timor-Leste.

AbstractRecently, Indonesia has experienced six major provincial, civil, armed conflicts. Underlying causes include the transmigration policy, sectarian disputes, the Asian economic crisis, fall of authoritarian rule, and a backlash against civil and military abuses. The public health impact involves the displacement nationwide of >1.2 million persons. Violence in the Malukus, Timor, and Kalimantan has sparked the greatest population movements such that five provinces in Indonesia each now harbor > 100,000 internally displaced persons. With a background of government instability, hyperinflation, macroeconomic collapse, and elusive political solutions, these civil armed conflicts are ripe for persistence as complex emergencies.Indonesia has made substantial progress in domestic disaster management with the establishment of central administrative authority, strategic planning, and training programs. Nevertheless, the Indonesian experience reveals recurrent issues in international humanitarian health assistance. Clinical care remains complicated by absences of treatment protocols, inappropriate drug use, high procedural complication rates, and variable referral practices. Epidemiological surveillance remains complicated by unsettled clinical case definitions, non-standardized case management of diseases with epidemic potential, variable outbreak management protocols, and inadequate epidemiological analytic capacity. International donor support has been semi-selective, insufficient, and late.The militia murders of three UN staff in West Timor prompted the withdrawal of UN international staff from West Timor for nearly a year to date. Re-establishing rules of engagement for humanitarian health workers must address security, public health, and clinical threats.

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 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 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.

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.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the historical and cultural dimensions of contemporary settlement patterns in the southern central highlands of West Timor. The Atoin meto people of this region are subsistent agriculturalists who live out their lives in the restricted world of household and hamlet. Social networks within and between hamlets are organised on the basis of dispersed clan group affiliations and marriage alliance. Knowledge of the past is recorded and expressed through an oral narrative tradition which provides a legitimating discourse for establishing claims in the present. In this thesis I draw on one exemplary oral narrative from the prominent clan group Nabuasa. This provides a basis for reconstructing the former political order in the study area of southern Amanuban. The analysis of the narrative reveals that the Nabuasa clan came to occupy the central position of an autonomous political system founded on an expansionary cult of warfare and headhunting. The history of twentieth century southern Amanuban has been one of diverse change. I argue, however, that Atoin meto communities maintain an orientation to the political order of the past and the central Nabuasa position within it. The legacy of this orientation may be observed in the patterns of land tenure, marriage alliance, and the system of localised political authority. These practical concerns are symbolised and represented through an inherited corpus of metaphorical idioms expressed in a pervasive dyadic form. These recurrent metaphors of life, such as gate and path, trunk and tip, female and male, and inside and outside, express cultural notions of relative precedence and social continuity. In these and other ways the present is constituted in terms of the past. Social reproduction is ordered by a system of asymmetrically structured social relations, articulated by a complex of gift exchange and legitimated and framed by recourse to historical precedent.