Local Governance in Timor-Leste - Secretaria de Estado da Arte e ...

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION1.0 Critical Institutionalism and the Politics of Mutual RecognitionThis thesis analyses how communities experience the coexistence of modern andtraditional institutional structures in the suku 1 of Timor-Leste, where both lisan 2 andmodern law are important guiding forces for people's lives. Drawing on fieldworkfrom two case study sites, the subdistricts of Venilale and Ainaro, I use the prism ofkonsellu de suku 3 as a 'bridge' between modern and traditional institutional structuresto analyse the complexities of the local governance environment. The main purpose ofthis thesis is to draw on this understanding of coexisting modern and traditionalgovernance to re-imagine institutionalist theory from a critical perspective that canbetter reflect local realities.When I began this research, I imagined the coexistence of modern and traditionalgovernance as a layering of two 'sets' of institutions in fairly functional terms. I wasfascinated that within many societies, colonisation had created coexisting institutionalstructures and I wished to find out how this coexistence is negotiated withincommunities. I presumed that on closer examination of the local governanceenvironment I could isolate those areas of communal life where the 'sets' ofinstitutions were either mutually supportive or in tension and that this would be madeapparent to me because of resulting community cohesion or tension. I imagined onthese terms that the main contribution of this study would be to point out the reality ofcoexisting institutional structures, the added complexity and richness that this gave tolocal governance within these communities, and the need for democratisation to beunderstood and pursued in a manner that was sensitive to these cultural realities. Asfieldwork progressed, however, it became obvious that these initial assumptions,which reflected classic institutionalist theory, were incomplete. By conceiving ofinstitutions as something that people were subject to, rather than actively engaging1 Suku: a group of villages, composed of a number of aldeia, or villages.2 Lisan: often translated as traditional law but is much broader than a legal system, encompassing manyother aspects of morality and spirituality.3 Konsellu de suku: local council.1
within, I had failed to recognise the reality of power, politics, agency and oppressionwithin local governing arrangements. In short, I had failed to take local politicsseriously.As fieldwork progressed, and as I came to know the communities of Venilale andAinaro better, it became apparent that the story of coexisting institutional structuresand of local governance more generally could not be told in such a depoliticisedmanner. Throughout this thesis I argue that it is through everyday local politics thatthe coexisting institutions of modern and traditional governance are negotiated—structuring how local authority is obtained and maintained, how that authority isexercised and shared, and what impact this complex governance environment has onbroader power relations within the suku. Extending the work of James Tully (1995), Idescribe this as the 'everyday politics of mutual recognition'. I argue that withincontemporary Timorese villages, characterised by a hybridity of modern andtraditional values, understandings and laws, local leaders strategically engage withmodern and traditional governance institutions in order to fill communal needs andpursue individual political agendas. I argue that it is through these everyday politics,rather than in the form and function of institutions themselves, that important insightscan be found into how social arrangements within Timorese communities are shapedin the context of coexisting modern and traditional governance. This may in turnprovide some clues for how a politics of mutual recognition can be developed andembraced within national politics.This evolution from a functional to a critical approach was also driven by a desire totell a second important story, what in this thesis I refer to as the 'shadow side' of thepolitics of mutual recognition. Aspects of this dynamic struck me many timesthroughout my fieldwork as existing inequalities relating to gender and classcontinued to be reproduced through the modern institutions of the state. As theyentered the local political environment, these new institutions were interpreted inways that were concordant with existing power relationships and traditionalinstitutional structures—but they nonetheless retained their quality as 'modern' stateinstitutions, clearly distinguishable from traditional institutions. This dynamic oftenserved to both deepen and legitimate those inequalities. However, taking a functionalapproach to institutionalism failed to provide the conceptual tools to account for this2
Page 1 and 2: Local Governance in Timor-Leste:The
Page 3 and 4: COPYRIGHT STATEMENT‘I hereby gran
Page 5 and 6: are some important points of tensio
Page 7 and 8: the Canossian sisters in Ainaro—M
Page 9 and 10: 2.6 The Issues of Cross-Cultural Re
Page 11 and 12: LIST OF FIGURESFigure One: The Deve
Page 13: Tara banduUma kainUma lulikXefe Ald
Page 17 and 18: anthropology of development (Shephe
Page 19 and 20: prefer the term 'local' to recognis
Page 21 and 22: evolve around ideas of traditional
Page 23 and 24: institution that is considered to b
Page 25 and 26: the case given the emphasis on cond
Page 27 and 28: Within these increasingly murky pol
Page 29 and 30: 1.3 Case Study SitesVenilaleVenilal
Page 31 and 32: The reasons for choosing Venilale a
Page 33 and 34: and influences can have on the loca
Page 35 and 36: played out since decolonisation. Th
Page 37 and 38: geographically 'outwards' from uma
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWO
Page 41 and 42: 2.1 FieldworkFieldwork was conducte
Page 43 and 44: marked differences in people's idea
Page 45 and 46: interactions between modern and tra
Page 47 and 48: then asking for advice on who else
Page 49 and 50: answer specific questions about how
Page 51 and 52: Every conversation and every experi
Page 53 and 54: discussions. This took a little tim
Page 55 and 56: crucial to the research question—
Page 57 and 58: CHAPTER THREE: CONCEPTUALISING POST
Page 59 and 60: epresentation through democratisati
Page 61 and 62: of coordination between these diffe
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government, and Huntington noted th
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Westernise. Equally, the specificit
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which individuals both shape and ar
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expanded this understanding to incl
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within a society. As Remmer puts it
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is to distribute power to some and
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To explain this point, he makes the
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provided by public policy" (Fukuyam
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Gramsci's account of hegemonic powe
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From this perspective, Gramsci's id
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outcomes. Rather, it structures soc
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'shadow side' of the everyday polit
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The centrality of these kin-based g
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4.1 Formation of Political Hybridit
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While the rule of the liurai was in
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to be rejoined. But as local politi
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in Europe, this was seen somewhat d
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did not make life any easier for th
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governor, but slowly seats were inc
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The movement towards decolonisation
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As the politics reached gradually b
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appointed traditionally (Ospina and
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esistance to Indonesian rule (Gunn
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outrage across the world. Following
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f) To assist in the establishment o
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egan to return from their hiding pl
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for a Constituent Assembly (CA) and
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these other factors reveal a more c
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SECTION TWO: EXAMINING LOCAL GOVERN
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hold spiritual and ritual responsib
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Important exchange relationships th
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spiritual significance of the ances
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ight to freedom, for anyone to occu
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The centrality of the liurai house
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As discussed previously, one of the
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order to meet their communal requir
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community, or communal expectations
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within the suku and to lead the kon
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epresentative. These political mech
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structural issue: while the old ins
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democratisation has been seen to er
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Party politics has been one such po
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on the leaders' position within the
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Within this hybrid political enviro
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in the community. While there is a
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authority figures in the aldeia, su
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As fieldwork progressed, it became
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kain), it is taken to the xefe and/
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process, they have the right to go
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(March, 2008). In the absence of le
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explains, he will not engage with a
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this distinction. When I asked abou
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insufficient attention being paid t
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of barlake that lay in the alliance
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functional, leaving them especially
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affiliation with political parties.
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xefe suku explained that the cost o
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that there is a combination of soci
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SECTION THREE: SHAPING LOCAL GOVERN
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automatically become part of the lo
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ecent Shadow Report to CEDAW, which
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Governance must be for something, a
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power within Timorese communities.
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Such structural constraints, howeve
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Across every suku in Venilale and A
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was built for their most remote ald
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While community members may attempt
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networks that use such animistic ri
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strongman, who operated in Venilale
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the community are captured or diver
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strongman specifically uses institu
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CHAPTER EIGHT: BRINGING IT BACK TO
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communities have created various fo
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However, while incoming resources c
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of fundamental importance in consid
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APPENDIX A: LIST OF INTERVIEWEESVEN
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APPENDIX B: MAP OF TIMOR-LESTESourc
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APPENDIX D: POLITICAL MAP OF SUBDIS
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BINNS, T. (2006) 'Doing Fieldwork i
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CHESTERMAN, S. (2002) 'East Timor i
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DEGNBOL-MARTINUSSEN, J. (2002) 'Dev
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Lincoln, Y. (Eds.) The Landscape of
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GRENFELL, L. (2006) 'Legal Pluralis
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HOWARTH, D. (2000) Discourse, Bucki
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LANDMAN, T. & HAUSERMANN, J. (2003)
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MERRY, S. E. (1988) 'Legal Pluralis
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OSPINA, S. & HOHE, T. (2001) Tradit
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RUDOLPH, L. I. (1965) 'The Modernit
Page 241 and 242:
THAKUR, R. & VAN LANGENHOVE, L. (20
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WORK, R. (2002) 'Overview of Decent
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