ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the consolidation of East Timorese democracy since 2002, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses in the historical context of its emergence from consecutive colonial eras, and the particular challenges of establishing the ‘double transition’ to independence and democracy simultaneously. It addresses key challenges in democratic consolidation: the evolving relationship between presidential and prime-ministerial power under the semi-presidential system, the relationship of government with highly legitimate but constitutionally neglected traditional authorities, and the overdue processes of generational transition. The book presents a broader perspective on processes of governance in his study of the relationships between customary authority, the Church and the state experienced in East Timorese local communities. It draws on extensive analysis of the government’s own fiscal reporting and data projections to highlight the distorting effects of Timor-Leste’s, near-complete dependency on oil and gas revenues.
