Do Democratisation and Global Justice go hand in hand? The case of Timor- Leste

Carla Luís

doi:10.22151/politikon.20.4

Authors

Carla Luís University of Coimbra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.20.4

Keywords:

democracy, justice, case study, Timor-Leste, peacebuilding, statebuilding

Abstract

Peace missions often focus on statebuilding policies, being statebuilding a key aspect in these interventions. However, beyond or parallel to the democratisation process, questions regarding global justice arise. In this paper we are going to analyse the situation in Timor-Leste. We are going to argue that, beyond the classic democratisation approach, there are a number of factors that still have to be addressed, and these can be intrinsically related to democracy. We will conclude that the focus of the international interventions, especially within multi-dimensional missions and, therefore, the priorities of the host state, should go beyond the formal democratisation aspect. Social and economic factors, much related to the idea of global justice, should also be present and be a key aspect and result of these interventions.

Author Biography

Carla Luís, University of Coimbra

Carla Luís, 33, Lisbon, is a PhD Candidate at CES – Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, in the PhD Programme International Politics and Conflict Resolution, with the thesis project “UN peacebuilding and the role of electoral systems: the case of Timor-Leste”.She holds a Masters’ Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC, Venice) and is graduated in Law by the Law Faculty of the New University of Lisbon. She is a researcher in the Project “Peacebuilding and sustainable peace: UN missions in Timor-Leste and Portugal's contribution”, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Her interests are electoral systems, peacebuilding, post-conflict and the Southeast Asia region.