ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies how the rival interpretations be tested in East Timor. It opens by identifying the research question. It also pays attention to the ongoing debate in the literature about the nature of East Timor’s government system and closes off with a conclusion. The constitutional distribution of power presents a list of indicators of conflict. The general argument that semi-presidentialism, due to its dual executive, generates institutional conflict be supported if a change in the government situation corresponds to a linear decrease of institutional conflict. Critics of semi-presidentialism hold that the system provokes institutional conflict, which leads to democratic collapse. In the literature, semi-presidentialism is associated with four political situations: unified majority government, divided government, cohabitation and divided minority government. The constitution of East Timor defines the president as the head of state and the symbol and guarantor of national independence and unity of the state and of the smooth functioning of democratic institutions.
