Timor-Leste: Lessons Of A Failing State?

Timor-Leste shares the island of Timor and a bloody history with Indonesia. The former Portuguese colony was part of Indonesia from 1976 until 2002, when it was declared an independent state. The country's small population is less than half of 1 percent of that in neighboring Indonesia, and one quarter died in fighting for independence. Despite great natural resources, the country has since struggled with rebel attacks, ruined infrastructure, instability, corruption, high unemployment and inequality. Resignation of Xanana Gusmao, founding president of the country who later became prime minister, could exacerbate the crisis, argues Loro Horta, who served as a United Nations project manager for security reform in Timor-Leste and a senior adviser to the country's foreign ministry. Oil and gas exports account for more than 90 percent of the nation's GDP, but reserves are in rapid decline. The United Nations and the international community invested great resources into development and peacekeeping. Horta warns that "Timor's case also has profound implications for future international efforts at state building." - YaleGlobal

Timor-Leste, struggling since independence in 2002, cannot take international generosity for granted

Loro Horta

YaleGlobal, 22 May 2014

DILI: The leader and founding father of Asia's youngest nation, Xanana Gusmao, announced in November that he was resigning as prime minister and leaving politics. The announcement comes amidst growing state failure and rampant mismanagement. Since Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia in 2002, Gusmao has dominated the small nation's politics. His intention to resign has led many to accuse him of cowardice - after all, he carries the bulk of the responsibility for the current chaos. His resignation is likely to create a power vacuum and exacerbate the crisis.

State failure in Timor-Leste can have severe consequences for regional security creating a refugee crisis and providing a safe haven for criminal organizations and other illicit activities. Despite massive international support and oil money the country remains fragile.

More than a decade after independence from neighboring Indonesia and two United Nation interventions, the former Portuguese colony remains an impoverished and fragile state. For a decade Timor was the highest recipient of foreign aid in the world, in per capita terms, with Australia, Portugal and Japan footing most of the bill - even as the country, since 2007, has...