ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the analytical categories Antonio Gramsci developed to explain the nature of bourgeois power/hegemony in Western democracies. The results of the 2007 elections were a decisive victory for the Xanana Gusmao alliance, with Ramos-Horta elected President and Gusmao coming to head a new coalition government. Policy choices regarding the petitioners were constrained by the vested interests of F- Forcas de Defesa de Timor-Leste leaders. Gusmao initially proposed that the petitioners each be paid the equivalent of three-year’s salary as compensation for unfair dismissal and that those who wanted to rejoin be accepted back into the military. Stability is a prerequisite for functioning democracy, but the enforcement of stability and the protection of officials from public criticism or legal challenges may exceed the requirements of democracy. Finally, surveys showing approval in the government’s performance may reflect not only consent but also the successful appeasement of popular sectors and elites alike.
