Political Development

East Timor's Emerging National Security Agenda: Establishing “Real” Independence

“…100 After refusing to go back to their barracks, the petitioners were fired for desertion by the then-FRETILIN government headed by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. 101 Over 400 members of the East Timorese military took up arms in April 2006 to protest the firings, and they demanded an investigation into claims of discrimination, leading to violent clashes with government troops and police in Dili. 102 On March 28, 2006, the riots were exacerbated when Alkatiri ordered troops to shoot at the protesters, and East Timorese police and army were unable to control the ensuing violence.…”

“…102 On March 28, 2006, the riots were exacerbated when Alkatiri ordered troops to shoot at the protesters, and East Timorese police and army were unable to control the ensuing violence. 103 As Kingsbury and Leach report, the protests "became a lightning rod for a range of disaffected groups with grievances over the high level of unemployment and other concerns about the lack of democratic responsiveness of the Alkatiri administration." 104 These riots can be understood as a resistance against the FRETILIN government and its increasingly authoritarian tendencies, and reflected the desire of people to regain control over political space.…”

Post‐conflict Statebuilding and State Legitimacy: From Negative to Positive Peace?

“…It was further undermined by the belief that democratization can in some way reach an end point after a transitional process. It might rather be viewed as a journey, and not as a destination (Kingsbury, 2007: 121; also Carothers, 2002). Reflecting these views, Cambodian political researchers concluded that Cambodia in 2006 was in a state of ‘permanent transition’ 2 .…”

Togoland’s lingering legacy: the case of the demarcation of the Volta Region in Ghana and the revival of competing nationalisms

“…The objective of this research is to critically analyse the impact the proposed Oti Region has on these competing nationalisms in the Volta Region. Theoretical views on nations and nationalism from Plamenatz (1970), Gellner (1983) and Kingsbury (2007) will be contextualised to this setting and placed alongside Ewe and Western Togoland scholarly work by Brown (1980;1983), Amenumey (1989), Nugent (2002) and Skinner (2007;2010;2015). The first chapter will analyse the similarities between the geographical split in support of the Oti Region and the 1956 Western Togoland plebiscite that created the union to form Ghana.…”