Timor-Leste: Building on Local Governance Structures: Embedding United Nations Peace Efforts from Within

Abstract

This chapter outlines the role of peace formation in Timor Leste. Only after the last United Nations peace mission exited did the Timorese government have some space and time to seriously address the gap between the external institutional architecture created and the existing traditional structures still functioning. The chapter thus argues that, to promote a sustainable peace, United Nations interventions should address the tensions arising from building a new institutional architecture by taking into account the existing local governance and dispute-settlement structures and dynamics even when they do not match United Nations norms, principles, and practices. Engaging with local peace-formation dynamics contributes to an increased legitimacy of the externally led peace efforts. In this way, United Nations efforts can become embedded in local dynamics, providing a stronger and more sustainable effort towards peace.