Joanne Wallis

A liberal-local hybrid peace project in action? The increasing engagement between the local and liberal in Timor-Leste

The liberal peace project has dominated state-building operations since the end of the Cold War, including in Timor-Leste. However, the attempt to institutionalise the liberal peace faced significant challenges in Timor-Lestes fragmented subsistence-based society. This resulted in the creation of shallowly rooted and poorly-understood liberal state institutions that were disconnected from the majority of Timorese, who continued to follow their local sociopolitical practices. In response, the state has increasingly engaged with these local practices in order to create state institutions that make sense to the people they seek to govern. This engagement has occurred through the formalisation of local sociopolitical institutions, the recognition of local justice systems and the utilisation of local ceremonies and practices. Therefore, this article argues that a liberal-local hybrid peace project has emerged to guide state-building in Timor-Leste, which may indicate how similar projects could develop in the future.

Political reconciliation in Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and Bougainville: the dark side of hybridity

ABSTRACT In recent years, the study and practice of political reconciliation has experienced a turn to hybridity. This turn has been defined by the increased rate at which liberal international and local peacebuilding practices, and their underlying ideas, have become merged, integrated or co-located in time and space. While hybrid approaches to reconciliation have been praised as an effective means of engaging local populations in peacebuilding operations, little attention has been paid to examining whether or not they also bring unintended negative consequences. Drawing on the cases of Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and Bougainville, this article examines the potentially dark side of hybridity. It demonstrates that, in each of these cases, hybrid approaches to political reconciliation have brought both positive and negative consequences. On the positive side of the equation, hybridity has seen imported international approaches to reconciliation adapted to meet local demands and ensure resonance with local populations. On the negative side, however, the misappropriation and instrumentalisation of local practices within hybrid approaches has served to damage their legitimacy and to jeopardise their contributions to reconciliation. The article thus concludes that the existence and extent of this dark side necessitates a re-evaluation of how hybrid approaches to political reconciliation are planned and implemented.

Building a liberal-local hybrid peace and state in Bougainville

Abstract There has been an increasing attempt to theorise the emergence of a liberal-local hybrid approach to state-building, which recognises the coexistence and interaction of liberal and local socio-political institutions. There has not yet been a sustained attempt to understand what occurs when a liberal-local approach is adopted from the outset of a state-building operation. This article seeks to fill this gap by applying the literature to the state-building process in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.Abstract There has been an increasing attempt to theorise the emergence of a liberal-local hybrid approach to state-building, which recognises the coexistence and interaction of liberal and local socio-political institutions. There has not yet been a sustained attempt to understand what occurs when a liberal-local approach is adopted from the outset of a state-building operation. This article seeks to fill this gap by applying the literature to the state-building process in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.

Constitution Making during State Building

Part I. Normative Justification for Participatory Constitution Making: 1. The normative justification 2. A constituent process Part II. Minimal Participation in Timor-Leste: 3. State building and constitution making in Timor-Leste 4. Constituent power in Timor-Leste 5. Constituted power in Timor-Leste Part III. Extensive Participation in Bougainville: 6. State building and constitution making in Bougainville 7. Constituent power in Bougainville 8. Constituted power in Bougainville Part IV. Evidence for and against Participatory Constitution Making: 9. Comparing the constitution-making processes 10. Role in state building.

Victors, Villains and Victims: Capitalizing on Memory in Timor-Leste

In 2006 a security crisis in Timor-Leste caused the collapse of the police force, dismissal of almost half of the army and the internal displacement of 150,000 people. The roots of the crisis lay in a range of societal divisions that became salient owing to the weak nature of Timorese national identity. The government responded to the security crisis by creating schemes to provide cash payments to certain groups. This article considers how these schemes fit into—and potentially exacerbate—societal divisions and emerging competition over the ownership of Timorese national identity. It concludes by arguing that an ethno-symbolist approach to building national identity, combined with generally available social assistance schemes, may offer Timor-Leste the best chance of ameliorating societal division and conflict.

Ten Years of Peace: Assessing Bougainville's Progress and Prospects

Abstract Between 1989 and 1997 Bougainville endured a complex secessionist war and localised conflict in which it is estimated that as much as 10% of its population died and up to 40% were internally displaced. In light of the extreme scale of the destruction wrought by the war, it is somewhat surprising how successful the peace process has been. In 2001 a comprehensive political settlement, outlined in the Bougainville Peace Agreement, granted Bougainville extensive political autonomy and guaranteed that a referendum would be held on its political future 10–15 years after an autonomous government was formed. By 2005 Bougainvilleans had worked together to conduct a weapons disposal process, draft a constitution and establish the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG). This article considers the progress that Bougainville has made implementing autonomy by evaluating the performance of the ABG. It concludes by foreshadowing Bougainvilles future prospects, including the role that autonomy and the deferred referendum have played in settling the self-determination dispute.

Nation-Building, Autonomy Arrangements, and Deferred Referendums: Unresolved Questions from Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

After a protracted war of secession in 2001, the Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea was granted autonomy and deferred a referendum on its political future. This article argues that the Bougainville case highlights the challenges posed by attempts to settle self-determination disputes using these tools. It considers the challenges posed by deferred referendums, principally how to reconcile competing interpretations of the identity and future political status of the region. It also considers the challenges posed by attempts to negotiate the relationship between the unique identities of autonomous regions and their identities within the larger state.

The South Pacific: ‘arc of instability’ or ‘arc of opportunity’?

The term ‘arc of instability’ was first used in 1999 to describe the security challenges facing the South Pacific. It subsequently came to dominate Australian political discourse, although its veracity was critiqued. This article considers how Australias political discourse about the region has evolved since 1999 and what impact this has had on Australias relationships in the region. It begins by outlining why the arc of instability characterization emerged and how it contributed to the securitization of the South Pacific, which justified Australias policy of new interventionism in the region. It concludes by considering whether it might be time to recharacterize the region as an ‘arc of opportunity’. This recharacterization may shift the political discourse to focus on the South Pacifics potential and opportunities, desecuritize Australias relationship with the region and diffuse concerns about continued Australian intervention by articulating a more cooperative approach.

Is ‘good enough’ peacebuilding good enough? The potential and pitfalls of the local turn in peacebuilding in Timor-Leste

ABSTRACT There is a palpable sense of humility within the United Nations and other international institutions regarding peacebuilding. Rather than seeking to implement the liberal peace, they now pursue the more modest goal of ‘good enough’ outcomes. This shift reflects a growing consensus in the critical literature that space needs to be provided for the local agency that will ultimately determine the outcomes of peacebuilding. At first blush this emphasis on local agency is positive; it offers an important correction to the technocratic and generally top-down nature of liberal peacebuilding. But, is the ‘good enough’ approach to peacebuilding good enough? What are the pitfalls and potential of the local turn? This article uses a case study of Timor-Leste to answer these questions. It finds that the local turn can help lend legitimacy to the state and increase opportunities for political participation and the delivery of public goods at the local level. However, the emerging evidence from Timor-Leste also highlights the pitfalls of the local turn. Most significantly, the state can transfer responsibility for public goods provision to the local level in order to lessen the burden on the state and to divert attention from ineffective or illegitimate central institutions.

What role can decentralisation play in state-building? Lessons from Timor-Leste and Bougainville

Decentralisation may play a role in building new and post-conflict states; where liberal state institutions are often built before a transition from local to state-level modes of political organisation has occurred. Decentralisation can provide space to recognise local sociopolitical institutions via a ‘liberal–local hybrid’, which may assist state-building. This article draws on case studies of Timor-Leste and Bougainville to argue that decentralisation to liberal–local hybrid institutions can play a positive role in state-building by enhancing the effectiveness and legitimacy of the state. This article concludes by identifying generalisable insights concerning how decentralisation to liberal–local hybrid institutions should be implemented during state-building.