| MA in Southeast Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University
Thesis title:
TIMORESE NATIONALISM: A BLESSING AND A CURSE
Author:
Mr. Oystein Solvang
Thesis advisor:
Associate Professor Dr. Withaya Sucharithanarugse
Keywords:
TIMOR, NATIONALISM, NATION
Abstract:
The concept of the East Timorese nation and nationalism is examined. The work operates with the following hypothesis: Monopolizing of power is the outcome of the specific nature of East Timorese nationalism. Methods employed to test this premise, is secondary sources, such as books and articles on East Timor’s political history and internet articles by NGO’s, government, UN, academics and newspapers. Main elements of the conceptual framework are theories on nationalism, nation and ideologies, as well as Benedict Anderson’s theory on ‘Imagined Communities’.
Centuries of colonial presence explains the creation of the imagined East Timorese community. The Timorese resistant movement dismisses colonialism but still adopts the Portuguese-created imagined community. The nationalist party Fretilin defines and monopolizes the concept of nationalism. A specific Timorese nationalism combined with both populist and Marxist elements is developed. The manifesto and party policy indicate a determination to be the only legitimate representative of the people. This ideology contributed to civil war against political opponents and execution of political dissidents in the 70s. As the ruling party, Fretilin has taken aggressive actions against demonstrations, media and journalists since autonomy in 2002.
The conclusion only party verifies the hypothesis. There are specific signs of state authoritarianism which can be explained by the nature of Timorese nationalism. However the few attacks against a civil society only after six years of self governance is not enough to classify Fretilin as authoritarian. The most interesting result of the research is nonetheless a theory based identification of Timorese nationalism and nation. Previous studies have not drawn the line from the roots of nationalism ending up with how the nationalist movement actually behaves in the Government offices in Dili today. The ambition of the thesis has been to give an academic explanation of the nature of Timorese nationalism and their notion of a nation.
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