Post Conflict Social And Economic Recovery In Timor Leste

This book presents a rich ethnography of post-conflict social and economic recovery in East Timor following the end of Indonesian military occupation of the territory in 1999. It offers a longer-term analysis of the pathways to rebuilding and restoring local community life, and the budding prosperity that has flowed from participation in spontaneous circular labour migration and the remittance benefits that have followed. Based on extensive comparative literature and field-based empirical research, the book explores the protracted process of cultural and economic revival following a generation-long period of military repression and a sustained struggle for national independence. With a focus on the experiences of Fataluku ethno-linguistic communities in Timor-Leste, the study offers nuanced perspectives on the legacies of conflict and local forms of governance, the revitalisation of customary exchange and ancestral religion. Presenting both an optimistic and alternative narrative in which a traumatised population finds new hope and emergent prosperity, this book highlights a renewed concern with inter-generational well-being and widespread aspirations for prosperity and material benefits following decades of deprivation. It is also an analysis of post-conflict resilience against the odds, illustrating the adaptive possibilities of tradition in the context of globalisation and expectations of modernity. As a major contribution to understanding the emergence and expansion of informal transnational labour migration out of East Timor, this book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy makers of contemporary Timor-Leste, Southeast Asian Politics, Southeast Asian Culture and Society, Development Studies, Anthropology and Conflict Studies.

The UNDP Crisis Prevention and Recovery Report 2008 titled Post-Conflict Economic Recovery: Enabling Local Ingenuity, is a comprehensive analysis focusing on three critical factors: the importance of local ingenuity to guide recovery, the state s role in promoting this ingenuity, and the policies needed to rebuild battered economies and reduce the risk of conflict recurrence. The study cites examples of countries that have succeeded in rekindling post-conflict economies and those that continue to flounder, discussing the foundations that are so vital to foster post-conflict economic recovery.

This volume presents clear policy recommendations for better practice in order to improve the speed, flexibility, predictability and risk management of international support during post-conflict transition.

This book argues that the international community must share responsibility for contributing to the conditions that resulted in violent conflict in Timor-Leste, four years after it declared independence from Indonesia. Its failure to tailor interventions to Timor-Leste’s specific political economy and conflict dynamics distanced the state from its citizens and undermined its capacity to forge a political settlement founded on a robust social contract. At a time in which conflict-affected states are receiving unprecedented attention and peacekeeping operations and humanitarian emergencies are becoming increasingly complex, this book argues that radical changes are urgently required in the way the international community operates in these environments. The findings are rooted in an examination of the mechanisms used by international development actors in Timor-Leste between 1998 and 2006. In bringing together wide-ranging perspectives, the author shows that international actions cannot be separated from the local political and socio-economic context, demonstrating that interventions are never ‘apolitical’ and that peacebuilding must be intentional. Indeed, political settlements premised on a robust social contract should not be taken for granted anywhere. The impact of increasing disenfranchisement, mistrust in institutions and structural inequalities evident in the global North suggest that lessons from peacebuilding in Timor-Leste are relevant far beyond its shores. This book is essential for students and researchers in the fields of development studies, international political economy, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and for practitioners and policymakers striving to advance peace.

This publication focuses on the role that education can play, both in terms of conflict prevention and in the reconstruction of post-conflict societies, drawing on research in 52 conflict-affected countries and a review of 12 country studies. These case studies include Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Lebanon, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and consideration is given to how lessons drawn might be applied to recent conflict situations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Issues discussed include: the relationship between conflict, poverty and education; the challenges of reform and reconstruction; teacher training and teaching resources; governance and financing; the legacy of conflict; and the role of the World Bank in supporting education reconstruction.

Claims to land and territory are often a cause of conflict, and land issues present some of the most contentious problems for post-conflict peacebuilding. Among the land-related problems that emerge during and after conflict are the exploitation of land-based resources in the absence of authority, the disintegration of property rights and institutions, the territorial effect of battlefield gains and losses, and population displacement. In the wake of violent conflict, reconstitution of a viable land-rights system is crucial: an effective post-conflict land policy can foster economic recovery, help restore the rule of law, and strengthen political stability. But the reestablishment of land ownership, land use, and access rights for individuals and communities is often complicated and problematic, and poor land policies can lead to renewed tensions. In twenty-one chapters by twenty-five authors, this book considers experiences with, and approaches to, post-conflict land issues in seventeen countries and in varied social and geographic settings. Highlighting key concepts that are important for understanding how to address land rights in the wake of armed conflict, the book provides a theoretical and practical framework for policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and students. Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding is part of a global initiative to identify and analyze lessons in post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resource management. The project has generated six edited books of case studies and analyses, with contributions from practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Other books in the series address high-value resources, water, livelihoods, assessing and restoring resources, and governance.

The key question for many anthropologists and historians today is not whether to cross the boundary between their disciplines, but whether the idea of a disciplinary boundary should be sustained. Reinterpreting the dynamic interplay between archive and field, these essays propose a method for mutually productive crossings between historical and ethnographic research. It engages critically with the colonial pasts of indigenous societies and examines how fieldwork and archival studies together lead to fruitful insights into the making of different colonial historicities. Timor-Leste’s unusually long and in some ways unique colonial history is explored as a compelling case for these crossings.

The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Englishes is the first reference work of its kind to describe both the history and the contemporary forms, functions, and status of English in Southeast Asia (SEA). Since the arrival of English traders to Southeast Asia in the seventeenth century, the English language has had a profound impact on the linguistic ecologies and the development of societies throughout the region. Today, countries such as Singapore and the Philippines have adopted English as a national language, while in others, such as Indonesia and Cambodia, it is used as a foreign language of education. The chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive overview of current research on a wide range of topics, addressing the impact of English as a language of globalization and exploring new approaches to the spread of English in SEA. The volume is divided into six parts that investigate, respectively: historical and contemporary English contact in SEA; the structures of the Englishes spokes in different SEA nations; the English-language literatures of the region; approaches to English in education throughout the region; and resources for researching SEA Englishes. The handbook will be an invaluable reference work for students and researchers in areas as diverse as contact linguistics, English as a Foreign Language, world Englishes, and sociolinguistics.