[TimorLesteStudies] Abstract and TOC: Rod Nixon PhD thesis: Integrating Indigenous Approaches into a 'New Subsistence State':The Case of Justice and Conflict Resolution in East Timor

Mon Sep 22 13:14:46 EST 2008

Nixon, Rod. PhD thesis. Integrating Indigenous Approaches into a ‘New
Subsistence State’:
The Case of Justice and Conflict Resolution in East Timor. Submitted
February 2008 Charles Darwin University

Abstract
This thesis begins by proposing the typology of the New Subsistence State as
a conceptual tool
for understanding governance challenges typically faced in jurisdictions
characterised by
subsistence social and economic relations. Defining features of the New
Subsistence State
include (1) an overwhelmingly subsistence economy corresponding to little or
no historical
experience of the generation and administration of large surpluses, (2)
minimal workforce
stratification and labour specialisation, (3) the predominance, especially
in rural areas, of
traditional authority relations, and (4) the realisation of statehood as a
result of either the
adoption or bestowal of the state model, rather than the autochthonous
development of the state
form.
The thesis then examines ways in which the case-study of East Timor conforms
to the typology
of the New Subsistence State. This analysis includes consideration of a
range of geographic,
historical and socio-political features, and some of the ways these aspects
restrict the capacity of
the new state to operate effectively in accordance with the modern state
model. A particular
theme concerns the minimal extent to which the territory of East Timor has
experienced
meaningful social and economic modernisation throughout any of the chapters
of its history.
Additionally, a range of other influences contributing to governance
challenges in East Timor in
contemporary times are examined, including post-conflict aspects,
demographic trends and
political antipathies which have their origins in the 1974–1975 period. The
analysis
demonstrates that East Timor faces major challenges in all main areas of
public administration,
with the justice sector an area of particular concern.
Whereas state institutions remain weak, the country has the option to draw
on suco institutions to
support some areas of governance, including justice and conflict resolution.
In a number of
comparable New Subsistence State contexts elsewhere, strategies have been
implemented to link
village-level forums to the state justice sector, yet no such initiative has
been implemented in
East Timor. However, a community justice and mediation program could be a
relatively
economical means of improving the efficiency of suco-level justice and
conflict resolution
forums, promoting human rights values and reducing the burden on the
national courts system.

Table of Contents
List of Maps

.

..v
List of Diagrams

..
.vi
List of Tables
..

...
vi
List of Illustrations

...

...vii
Abbreviations and Foreign and Technical Terms

...
...viii
Abstract

.
..xiv
Acknowledgements

......xv
Introduction

.1
Structure of the Study

.

.2
Literature Review

.

...7
1. States, Weak States and New Subsistence States
Introduction

..

.

23
State Development in Context..

.

23
Independent States and the ‘Democratic Development’ Agenda

.

.28
Weak and Failing States..

.

.33
Sociology and the Weak State

.

..38
The Western Experience

...............42
Seeing Local Capacities as Strengths not Weaknesses

.48
Restorative Justice

.50
Conclusion

.

52
2. State Development in East Timor: Geographic and Historical Factors in the
Pre-
Colonial and Colonial Periods
Introduction

.

..53
Timor: a Geographic Overview

.53
Human Settlement

55
Historical Agricultural Development Challenges

56
Socio-political Characteristics at Colonial
Contact

...........................................................59
The Long Process of Colonial Consolidation

63
Portuguese Timor in the Late Colonial Era

...72
Administration

..74
Assimilado Policy

.78
ii
Defence of the Province

...81
Attempts at Economic Development

86
Education and the Role of the Catholic Church

...92
Portuguese Timor in the 1960s and 1970s

...
95
Implications of Geographic, Socio-political and Historical Factors on State
Development
Prospects in East Timor

97
Conclusion

...101
3. The Emergence of Politics and Political Conflict: Developments April 1974
to
December 1975
Introduction

.

104
The Formation of Political Organisations and the Discovery of Political
Differences: April
1974–August 1975

..105
A Coalition of the Doomed: the FRETILIN/UDT Agreement of 21st January
1975
115
Indonesian Involvement and the Militarisation of Politics

119
Deterioration in UDT/FRETILIN Relations

..125
The UDT Attempted Coup d’etat

...128
The Organisation of the FRETILIN Counter-coup

.
...134
The Period of FRETILIN Interim Governance: September to December
1975

.138
Conclusion

...148
4. The Indonesian Period: An Assessment of the Consequences for State
Development
Introduction

.150
The Invasion and the Resistance: Developments and Turning
Points

................151
Development of the FRETILIN Resistance Model

151
Marxism and its Consequences

..152
Encirclement, Annihilation and a Revised Resistance Strategy

.154
Reorganisation and the Beginnings of Reconciliation

..

.156
The ‘National Unity’ Reorganisation of the Late 1980s

157
Events Contributing to an Increased International Profile in the
1990s

.159
The Indonesian Krismon and a Change in Fortune

163
The Establishment of the Concelho Nacional da Resistência Timorense (CNRT),
and the Appearance of a Unified Independence Movement

.
164
Events Associated with the Declaration of the Referendum
and the Indonesian Withdrawal

.

.165
iii
Developments of the Occupation Years of Significance to State Development
Prospects in East
Timor

...

................169
A Mixed Legacy: the Indonesian Development of East Timor

..169
Education and Capacity Development

...............174
East Timorese Participation in Public
Administration

...............180
East Timorese Participation in the Broader Workforce

.184
Health

.186
Broader Development Outcomes

...............188
Socio-political Legacies of the Indonesian
period

..

................198
The Impact of the Occupation Period on Social Capital

199
Martial Organisation

...200
Generational Differences

202
The Failure of the Indonesian Period to Engender Confidence in State
Institutions
and the State Justice Sector

...

.204
The Growth of the Church

.

.205
Other Resistance Legacies

.

.207
Conclusion

.

..209
5. The Transition to Statehood
Introduction

..

.
..211
INTERFET and the Emergency Period

...212
Humanitarian Emergency and Refugee Return

..214
Funding Appeal

..215
UN State-building in East Timor

...

.217
UNTAET and its Mandate

.

217
Establishing a UN Governance and Public Administration (GPA)
Structure

221
The Role of Non-state Actors in the Early Transitional Period

.227
East Timorese Participation in Transitional
Governance...

...............231
Realising Independent Statehood

................238
Conclusion 

..248
6. The RDTL State: The First Five Years
Introduction

.
249
The Emergence of Vulnerabilities

...249
The Bicentric Governance System and Control of Security
Forces

...............250
Weak State Indicators

.254
iv
The December 2002 Riots

..............256
The Interior Ministry Takes Control of Domestic and Border Security

257
Negotiating the Place of Religion in the Educational Curriculum

.257
The 2006 Political Crisis: East Timor Becomes a ‘Temporarily Broken
State’

259
The 2007 Elections and a Change of Leadership

274
Profiling the New Subsistence State of East Timor

283
Economic and Demographic Factors

.284
Security, Stability and Order

..287
Democracy and Governance

..289
Availability and Prudent Use of State Resources

...292
Public Administration

297
The State Justice Sector

..304
Conclusion

...310
7. East Timorese Systems of Justice and Conflict Resolution
Introduction

...
..312
Early Observations

..312
Barlaque

...

..315
Justice and Conflict Resolution in a Cultural Context

...316
Role of Ancestors in Justice

...317
The Compensation Principle

..318
Collective Responsibility

...320
Reconciliation

.
320
Sorcery

...321
The Indonesian Period

.324
Suco Justice and Dispute Resolution in the Twenty-First
Century

.325
The Importance of Quick Justice

327
Justice and Conflict Resolution

..328
Compensation

.332
The Continuing Problem of Sorcery

..334
Suco Authorities and Land Dispute Resolution

.336
Conclusion

...348
v
8. The Role of Suco Justice Principles in an Emerging New Subsistence State
Introduction

.350
Suco Justice and the International
Intervention

...............350
Restorative and Diversionary (and Other) Justice Approaches during the
UN Period

...353
What Role for Restorative Approaches in the New Subsistence State of East
Timor?..............363
Some East Timorese Perspectives and Strategies

..363
Universal Justice and Local Realities

.366
Future Directions

371
Conclusion

...380
Conclusion

...

.383
References

...

.

..393
Informants

...

.
.

.....443
Appendix A

...

.

447
Semi-structured Interview Guidelines for Customary Justice Study.
Appendix B

...
....

.
.....454
Land Dispute Mediation Questionnaire for Key Informants.
Appendix C

.
..

.......

..470
Land Dispute Mediation Questionnaire for Randomly Selected Household-heads
from Manatuto
and Ermera Sub-districts.
Appendix D

...

.

478
Land Rights and Title Restitution Questionnaire for National Randomised
Survey (abridged).
Appendix E

...

...............

..

.480
Post-War Census and Collection of Native Head-Tax Regulation (abridged).
List of Maps
Map 1
..........

...

...

.xvii
República Democrática de Timor-Leste - Districts Boundaries.
Map 2

..
...

..
.
...........

....65
Map of Timor Adapted from a Map Appended to the Memoirs of Former Governor
of
Portuguese Timor, Affonso de Castro (1867).
vi
List of Diagrams
Diagram 1

...

....
228
CNRT organisational structure at zona (sub-district) level.
Diagram 2

..............

.

..
..331
Possible course of justice/dispute resolution proceedings in Oecusse, where
ritual and
administrative authority commonly overlap.
List of Tables
Table 1

.

...............

.

..
..29
Countries and territories receiving no official development assistance.
Table 2

.......
177
Educational achievements of over-ten population throughout Indonesia in
1995.
Table
3...........................................................................
.....................................................
...193
Identified state forestry plantations and seedling production sites in East
Timor, 2005.
Table 4

...

.

..
..196
Identified state aquaculture sites in East Timor, 2005.
Table 5

.

.

..244
Distribution of seats in Constituent Assembly.
Table 6

.

...

.

.

..276
Districts in order of pro-Ramos-Horta vote in the 2007 presidential
election.
Table 7

...

..

.

..279
2007 parliamentary election results: distribution of seats.
Table 8

.
.

..293
Basis of Combined Sources Budget 2006-2007 to 2009-2010 (USD).
Table 9

.
.

..299
Profile of non-customary primary industry parcels in East Timor.
Table 10

...

..
.

339
Who should make a compulsory decision concerning the resolution of a land
dispute or claim in
the event a compulsory decision must be made?
Table 11

...

..

.340
Who has major responsibility for decisions about land in the suco?
vii
Table 12

....

..341
Total land dispute mediation forums used by (eighteen) randomly selected
respondents with past
involvement in land disputes.
Table 13

...
...

342
Which kinds of land disputes are most/least common, and which kinds are
easy/difficult to
resolve? (from key persons sample with 101 respondents)
Table 14

...

.
..

343
Most appropriate authorities for managing the resolution of inter-suco
boundary disputes (note
that respondents were able to list multiple authorities).
Table 15

...

.

......345
Perceptions of (101) key persons concerning which forums are part of which
system (traditional
or formal).
Table 16

...............

..........

.346
Perceptions of members of key persons sample concerning which system
(traditional or courts)
is best (total sample 101).
Table 17

...

.

.

.
347
Perceptions of representatives of women’s organisations concerning which
system (traditional or
courts) is best (total sample thirteen).
List of Illustrations
(All photographs by the author unless otherwise indicated)
Figure 1.

.

...

..

..91
Recovering oil at Pualaca, Laclubar (Manatuto), November 1946
(Charles Eaton. Courtesy of Charles S. Eaton).
Figure 2

...
...

.

.

..

243
East Timorese voters outside the Bobometo polling station, Oecusse, 30th
August 2001.
Figure 3

...

....

...300
The last days of a state-owned sandalwood tree.
Figure 4

..

...

...

...300
Oecusse ‘state forest.’
Figure 5

...

..

...

..
.301
Abandoned fish and prawn farm, Liquiça.
viii
Figure 6

...

...

...

301
Dili stormwater drain.

Bu Wilson
Regulatory  Institutions Network (RegNet) Research School of Pacific and
Asian Studies
College of Asia and the Pacific,
Australian National University
Canberra   ACT   0200
AUSTRALIA

T: 02 6125 3194
F: 02 6125 1507
M: 0407 087 086
E: Bu.Wilson at anu.edu.au

http://regnet.anu.edu.au

ANU Cricos Provider Code - 00120C  

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