How Human Insecurity Arose Under International Peacebuilding: The Case of Timor-Leste

This presentation explicates how new form of human security arose in Timor-Leste during the time of international statebuilding and peacebuilding.

Firstly, I draw attention to the influence of neo-liberal economic policy on people’s lives. The introduction of neo-liberal economy had a detrimental impact on domestic agriculture in Timor-Leste, triggering a large-scale urbanisation as many moved to cities in search for jobs. Despite the recent economic growth, however, most of migrants from rural areas remained jobless and the poverty among the new migrants aggravated.

Secondly, I point out the impact of the failure of state-institution building on the human security condition in the country. As many have pointed out the modern state institutions had struggled to build its foundations in of the country. State was therefore yet to be fully forged to redress the poverty created by the economic policy. At the same time, it is important to note that the decline of customary form of governance had a critical impact on the quality of people’s lives. While the clan-based community and its customary form of governance have provided social safety net in rural areas, the population in the urban areas lacked such supports from families and extended families. It was under such a context where a new form of human insecurity emerged.

I will close this presentation by discussing the implication of the case of Timor-Leste to the theory of international statebuilding and peacebuilding. The conventional theories have assumed that political democratisation would automatically bring about peace and security in the post-conflict society. The case of Timor-Leste, however, suggests the need to reframe the theory so that it would be able to include the complexity of political and economic modernisation and to appropriately explain the complex trajectories that the post-conflict societies might experience.