Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste

The Birth of a Democratic Nation, 1999-2012

Author: Feijo, Rui
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Serie: Emerging Asia
ISBN: 9789089648044
eISBN Pdf: 9789048526338
Place of publication: Amsterdam , Netherlands
Year of digital publication: 2016
Month: May
Pages: 260
DDC: 959.8704
Language: English

Caption

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

Cover
Table of contents
Foreword
- Nancy Bermeo
Preface
- Revisiting a success story with critical eyes
Acknowledgements
1. Democracy in the 21st century
- Lineages and configurations of an impure concept
- In search of bases for a dense concept of democracy
- Lineages
  - Demokratia
  - Representation and limited government
- The convergence of lineages
- Configurations
  - On Lincoln’s formula
  - Schumpeter’s legacy
  - Polyarchy
  - Moving beyond procedures: An ethos for democracy
- Is Timor-Leste a democracy?
  - Applying standard definitions of democracy
  - Reflecting on democracy in Timor-Leste
2. Assessing the odds
- Could Timor-Leste become a democracy?
- On dynamic SWOT analysis and its application
- Strengths
  - National unity and identity
  - Plural nationalism
  - Nationalist narrative
  - Democracy-leaning leadership
  - Size of the country
  - Free constitution-making
  - Natural resources
- Weaknesses
  - Poverty
  - The ‘oil curse’
  - Embryonic state
  - Colonial legacy
  - Repercussions of authoritarianism
  - Legacy of conflict
  - Political polarization
  - Guerrilla fighters
  - ‘Charismatic leadership’
  - Rudimentary political parties
  - Fragile civil society
  - Ethno-linguistic diversity
  - Sizeable dislocated population
  - Financial costs
- Opportunities
  - Zeitgeist
  - Democratic ‘linkages’
  - Democracy promotion
  - International aid
  - International oversight
- Threats
  - Democratic recession
  - Regional context
  - Alternative narratives
  - Democratic façade regimes
  - Pockets of permissiveness of non-democracies
  - International agents
  - Leviathan
- Looking ahead
  - Time
  - Ownership
  - Inclusiveness
  - Control
3. Constitutionalism old and new in the ‘UN Kingdom’ of Timor-Leste
- Constitution-making: The importance of processes
- Setting the frame
- A controversial roadmap towards independence
- Old constitutionalism at work: On the Constituent Assembly
- Compromise and consensus: Defining the government system
- New constitutionalism: Popular consultations before drafting the constitution…
- … and after
- Assessing the impact of the constitution-making process
  - Durability
  - Temperance
  - Stability
  - Democracy
- Finale
4. Elections in a young democracy
- Popular voice and control
- Elections, independence, democracy
- Before the vote: Critical legal and administrative choices
  - Franchise and electors’ registration
  - Electoral administration
  - Electoral legislation
- A survey of three electoral cycles
  - Participation
  - The consecration of ‘independent’ presidents
  - Legislative elections and the evolving party system
- Elections as mirrors
  - Regional patterns of voting
  - The influence of personalities
- Elections and democratic consolidation
5. Semi-presidentialism with ‘independent’ presidents
- Political inclusiveness and democratic consolidation
- On the notion of ‘semi-presidentialism’ and its varieties
- Semi-presidentialism and democracy
- Scrutinizing the Timor-Leste government system
- Critical readings of the government system’s performance
- What if? A counterfactual exercise
- Assessing the role of ‘independent presidents’
- Conclusion
6. Grassroots democracy
- Building a decentralized state where worlds meet
- Decentralization and democracy
  - The constitutional mandate
  - Roots of the constitutional mandate
  - What’s in a name?
  - Why decentralize?
- The adventurous tribulations of local governance after independence
  - Municipalities in Neverland
  - Politics in the village
  - A paradox of democratic development
- Finale: Looking back and forth
  - Hypothesis on an aborted reform
  - Anticipating future developments
Epilogue
- After 2012: New challenges to the consolidation of Democracy
- Generational turnover
- Prosperity and democracy
- Grassroots democracy: Building a decentralized state
- The judicial system
- Conclusion
List of acronyms
References
Index
List of tables
- Table 2.1 – Timor-Leste SWOT features
- Table 3.1 – Presidential Competences
- Table 4.1 – Evolution of Registered Voters
- Table 4.2 – Electoral Participation
- Table 4.3 – Presidential Elections Final Results
- Table 4.4 – Electoral results – Constituent Assembly and National Parliament
- Table 4.5 – Votes without Parliamentary Representation

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Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste

The Birth of a Democratic Nation, 1999-2012

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