Portugal and East Timor: Managing Distance and Proximity in Post-Colonial Relations

Abstract

Abstract An atypical case of decolonisation, East Timor’s road to self-determination lasted some twenty-five years, throughout which the country has maintained an unusually close relationship with its former colonial Power, Portugal. While under Indonesian occupation, this small East Asian country relied heavily on Portuguese support on the international stage to seek its independence. Since attaining it in 2002, Portugal has remained a privileged ally in the context of the newly independent state’s domestic and foreign policy challenges. Portugal’s continued presence in East Timor’s affairs can be understood as an expected avatar of colonialism, reflecting, on the one hand, a sense of historical responsibility on the part of a concerned ‘mentor’ and, on the other, a calculated endeavour to expand a natural sphere of influence. Yet, like many other post-colonial relations, those between Portugal and East Timor are more complex than simply a unilateral imposition of the former colonial Power’s interests. They should, this paper argues, also be understood through the lens of East Timor’s own agency and its capacity to instrumentalise Portugal’s inclinations to its advantage. Keywords: Portugal, East Timor, post-colonial relations, foreign policy, UN ----- Bibliography: Cravo, Teresa Almeida/Freire, Maria Raquel: Portugal and East Timor: Managing Distance and Proximity in Post-Colonial Relations, ERIS, 3-2014, pp. 39-59. https://doi.org/10.3224/eris.v1i3.19123