East Timor's pursuit of democratic independence

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates how East Timor achieved statehood by linking independence with democracy. It argues that building a democracy was a consistent goal for some elements of East Timor’s independence movement throughout the transition to statehood. The independence movement committed a future East Timor state to establishing a liberal, multi-party, plural democracy with a particular emphasis on social justice and wealth re-distribution. This pursuit of the twin goals of independence and democracy enabled East Timor to become a sovereign state and this vision of statehood was important for how it instituted new political structures. The interplay between norms of self-determination and democracy is useful for understanding East Timor’s pursuit of sovereign independence. In contemporary International Relations, it has become increasingly recognised that there exists a democratic entitlement in which all people hold rights to internal self-determination and political participation. In essence, East Timor sought to attain the right of self-determination in order to achieve sovereign rights and establish a democracy. There were two key elements to their appeals for self-determination: first, that a unique and identifiable East Timorese ‘nation’ existed and held rights to self-determination under international law; and second, that an East Timorese state would establish a democracy and guarantee human rights. This commitment was important as individual rights to political participation have become international standards that all states are expected to uphold. International and domestic civil society organisations supported the East Timorese independence movement by pressuring governments,lobbying diplomats, holding protests, raising international awareness and providing information of the human rights situation and self-determination in East Timor. These international appeals for democracy, human rights and freedoms in East Timor ultimately led to the referendum on independence in 1999. The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was mandated to assist East Timor in establishing democracy following the referendum, and there has been considerable literature analysing and evaluating the roles of the UNTAET. However, there has been less attention on the roles of the East Timorese in constructing their political institutions and the relationship between the social and political realms during these processes. East Timorese leaders drafted the constitution, which established key political institutions such as electoral systems and the structure of government, and articulated the nature of citizenship rights and the relationship between the state and society. As such, East Timorese leaders played a considerable role in institutionally structuring the identity of their new state. East Timor’s Constitution outlined a vision of East Timor as a liberal, multi-party, social democracy that guarantees the civil, political and socio-economic rights of its people. The commitment to democracy and human rights demonstrated by political leaders prior and during East Timor’s transition is important for its capacities to consolidate its new political institutions and engender them with political legitimacy. A legitimate political order is one that is sanctioned by the population, thus a widespread, grassroots belief in the validity of democracy as a system of government has assisted East Timor in establishing and maintaining its democratic institutions.