For over two decades the issue of East Timor's right to self-determination has been a ‘prickly’ issue in Australian foreign policy. The invasion by Indonesian forces in 1975 was expected, as Australian policy-makers had been well informed of the events leading up to the punitive action being taken. Indeed, prior discussions involving the future of the territory were held between the Australian Prime Minister and the Indonesian President in 1974. In response to the events unfolding in the territory the Australian Labor Government at the time was presented with two policy options for dealing with the issue. The Department of Defence recommended the recognition of an independent East Timor; whereas the Department of Foreign Affairs proposed that Australia disengage itself as far as possible from the issue. The decision had ramifications for future policy considerations especially with changes in government. With the Department of Foreign Affairs option being the prevailing policy what were the essential ingredients that give explanation for the government's choice? It is important to note the existence of the continuity and cyclical nature of attitudes by Labor governments toward Indonesia before and after the invasion. To do so requires an analysis of the influence ‘Doc’ Evatt had in shaping any possible Labor tradition in foreign policy articulation. The support given by Evatt for the decolonisation of the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) gave rise to the development of a special relationship-so defined. Evidence of the effect Evatt had on future Labor governments may be found in the opinions of Gough Whitlam. In 1975 when he was Prime Minister, Whitlam felt the East Timor issue was merely the finalisation of Indonesia's decolonisation honouring Evatt's long held anti-colonialist tradition existing in the Australian Labor Party. The early predisposition toward Indonesia's cohesiveness surfaced again in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments of later years. It did not vary a great deal with changes in government The on-going commitment to preserving and strengthening the bilateral relationship meant Indonesia's territorial integrity became the focus of the Australian political elites’ regional foreign policy determinations. The actions taken by policy-makers served to promote the desire for a stable region ahead of independence claims of the East Timorese. From a realist perspective, the security dilemma for Australian policy-makers was how to best promote regional order and stability in the South East Asian region. The desire for regional cohesiveness and stability continues to drive Australian political elites to promote policies that gives a priority to the territorial integrity of regional states. Indonesia, in spite of its diversity, was only ever thought of as a cohesive unitary state and changes to its construct have rarely been countenanced. Australia's political elite justifications for this stance vacillate between strategic and economic considerations, ideological (anti-colonialism) to one of being a pragmatic response to international politics. The political elite argues the projection of power into the region is in Australia’s national interest. The policies from one government to the next necessarily see the national interest as being an apparent fixed feature of foreign policy. The persistent fear of invasion from the north traditionally motivated Australia's political elite to adopt a strategic realist policy that sought to ‘shore up’ the stability, strength and unity of Indonesia. The national interest was deemed to be at risk if support for East Timorese independence was given. The national interest though can involve more than just the security issue, and the political elite when dealing with East Timor assumed that they were acting in the common good. Questions that need to be addressed include determining what is the national interest in this context? What is the effect of a government invoking the national interest in debates over issues in foreign policy? And, who should participate in the debate? In an effort to answer these questions an analysis of how the ex-foreign affairs mandarin Richard Woolcott defines the national interest becomes crucial. Clearly, conflict in East Timor did have implications for the national interest. The invasion of East Timor by Indonesia had the potential to damage the relationship, but equally communist successes in 1975 in Indo-China raised Australia's regional security concerns. During the Cold War, the linking of communism to nationalism was driving the decision-making processes of the Australian policy-makers striving to come to grips with the strategic realities of a changing region. Because of this, did the constraints of world politics dominated by Cold War realities combined with domestic political disruption have anything to do with Australia's response? Certainly, Australia itself was experiencing a constitutional crisis in late 1975. The Senate had blocked supply and the Labor Government did not have the funds to govern. The Governor-General by dismissing the Labor Government finally resolved the impasse. What were the reactions of the two men charged with the responsibility of forming the caretaker government toward Indonesia's military action? And, could the crisis have prevented the Australian government from making a different response to the invasion? Importantly, and in terms of economic security, did the knowledge of oil and gas deposits thought to exist in the Timor Sea influence Australia's foreign policy? The search for oil and gas requires a stable political environment in which to operate. Therefore for exploration to continue in the Timor Sea Australia must have had a preferred political option and thoughts of with whom they preferred to negotiate. What was the extent of each government's cooperation and intervention in the oil and gas industry and could any involvement have influenced the Australian political elites’ attitude toward the prospect of an independent East Timor? Australia's subsequent de jure recognition that East Timor was part of Indonesia paved the way for the Timor Gap (Zone of Cooperation) Treaty signing in 1989. The signing underpinned Australia's acceptance of Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. The outcome of the analysis of the issues that shaped Australia's foreign policy toward East Timor showed that the political elite became locked into an integration model, which was defended by successive governments. Moreover, they formed an almost reflexive defence of Indonesia both at the domestic and international level.

This thesis explores the roles and experiences of local East Timorese non-government organisations through the multiple transitions which accompanied East Timor's process of independence in the period 1999-2004. It explores how NGOs attempted to influence the changing environment in which they were operating, particularly in the development of the new nation. In doing so, it examines how the actual experience of these local NGOs relates to theories of civil society and NGOs in the various phases of transition to democracy, state and nation building and post-conflict peacebuilding. After reviewing literature relating to the role of civil society and NGOs in democratisation, development and peacebuilding, and identifying some key issues to explore, the study turns to the particular context of East Timor. It summarizes the colonial history, with a particular focus on governance, development and the emergence of civil society and NGOs in that territory, and the phases of the transition. It then focuses closely on six leading East Timorese NGOs, which between them reflect different organisational origins and sectoral interests and which were perceived to be playing significant roles within the NGO community. The case study chapters describe briefly the history of each NGO, then trace their stories over an approximately five year period. They explore how the visions, strategies, programs and organisational systems of these NGOs changed as the context changed. The case studies show how adaptive these NGOs were, how excluded some of them were by the huge influx of international players after the ballot, but how, in the absence of a legitimate government, they were included in various processes in a number of important ways during the UNTAET period. These studies also reveal some of the challenges the NGOs faced as the new government took over in May 2002. The study concludes by summarising the changing roles and capacities of the NGOs, highlighting the many roles which local NGOs played throughout the study period, and the way in which they met new demands placed upon them. It identifies capacities critical for these NGOs' survival and development, and identifies some strategies which the NGOs themselves identified as useful in helping them attain these. It also identifies some areas which they found challenging and where more capacity development may have been valuable. Finally the study reflects on the actual experiences of Timorese NGOs compared to theory and experiences elsewhere relating to democracy, development and peacebuilding. The findings, which emphasise the changing relationship of the new state to its citizens, suggest that the civil society and development practice, which has been strongly based on de Tocqueville's approach to civil society, is not particularly helpful in a post-conflict setting. Instead, an adapted Gramscian approach, viewing civil and political society as interrelated sites in which a struggle to embed non-violent means of apportioning power are being waged, could be of greater analytic and practical value.

How do international norms travel, via statebuilding efforts, into post-conflict settings, and how do international and national actors interact in this process? These are the main questions addressed in this thesis. The empirical focus is the spreading and rooting of the norm of women’s political rights in Cambodia and Timor-Leste, two countries in which international actors have played a significant role in statebuilding efforts. Although statebuilding has increasingly become a part of UN peacebuilding missions, we still lack a thorough understanding of how much, and in what ways, the international community can successfully promote change. This is important in view of the fact that the key to success ultimately depends on how the receiving community responds to the presence and efforts of international actors to promote new social norms.  This study analyzes the interaction between international and national actors engaged in the promotion of women’s political rights as part of the effort to advance democracy. Three institutional developments are examined in detail – electoral rules and regulations, the establishment of a national gender equality/women’s machinery and the strengthening of the local government structure. The study uses a modified norm diffusion approach and makes two theoretical contributions to the literature. First, I place the norm diffusion process in a post-conflict context. Second, I add the concept of capability to function in order to conceptualize and study the internalization of the norm. The thesis is based on both an analysis of written material and semi-structured interviews. A total of 65 interviews were conducted during three research trips to each of the countries between 2007 and 2009. In general, the four empirical chapters reveal that the interaction between international and national actors has predominantly been characterized by international actors setting the agenda, with varying degrees of consultation and collaboration with national actors. While norm institutionalization has been rather high in both countries, norm inter­nalization lags behind. This is explained by discriminating ways of life and attitudes, lack of resources and time. Norm internalization is higher in Timor-Leste, in part because national actors have adapted the norm of women’s political rights to fit the local setting, but also due to their openness to international influences. The empirical study underscores that international actors can push for change and norm adherence, but their efforts are not enough. In the end, national actors have to buy into the message that international actors try to convey. The strengths and weaknesses that have been uncovered in the Cambodian and Timorese case studies presented here should be carefully considered as international actors, led by the UN, embark upon future statebuilding missions around the globe.

The main aim of this dissertation is to analyze the idea and practice of handing over the administration of a territory to the United Nations on a temporary basis in response to manage and settle the consequences of a dispute concerning the future status of that territory. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) are novel examples in this respect since they present both the opportunities offered and the challenges experienced by the international administrations and give clear guidelines for the future state-building engagements. Since the end of the Cold War, there emerged a definitive trend toward accepting a more interventionary role for the UN. Taking the changing nature of interventionism into account, within the scope of this dissertation, the foremost focus will be on the post-intervention period where peacebuilding and state-building processes take place in war-torn societies. Thereby, international transitional administrations which represent the most complex and comprehensive peace operations attempted by the United Nations will be the focal point of the study. Since such administrations assume some or all of the sovereign powers of an independent state, in a period when neo-interventionism and suspended or conditional sovereignty are debated, the degree of executive, legislative and judicial authority assumed by transitional administrations is worth to consider.

Belief in human rights is a value central to the Canadian self-image. Canadians view the development of Canada's international peacekeeping role and overseas development assistance program in the post-1945 era as the foreign policy manifestation of this belief. It has led to the national myth of the country as a "Humanitarian Middle Power". Canada's response to Indonesia's oppressive occupation of East Timor (1975 - 1999) contradicted this national myth. The concept of meta-narrative, of political mythmaking, is used to examine the reasons why the Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments in Ottawa during this period perceived Canada's national interest in maintaining a strong economic relationship with Jakarta over the protection of human rights in East Timor. These "Official" meta-narratives were countered by Canadian human rights activists, such as the East Timor Alert Network, who stressed the primacy of human rights in foreign-policy decision-making. Ultimately, this debate represents a conflict of values in Canadian society. The "Official" meta-narrative has developed since World War II in active support of the capitalist world-system dominated by the United States, whereas the "Counter" meta-narrative challenges the morality of that system. The "Humanitarian Middle Power" myth, which is at the core of the Canadian identity vis-a-vis the international community, is not completely invalid, but it is greatly limited by the firm adherence of Canadian governments to the world economic structure.

The study of externally-led democratisation in conflict-affected societies has expanded over the last two decades. The introduction of democracy from the outside has attracted extensive scholarly interest in accordance with the increasing engagement of the United Nations and other international agents in attempting to build long-lasting domestic, regional and international peace through promoting democratic forms of government in the post-Cold War era. The studies conducted to investigate democratisation in post-conflict societies have focused on the construction of government institutions and transferring necessary institutional competencies due to the fact that externally-driven democratisation policies target the state rather than the nation. In this respect, some studies undertaken to examine the process of democratisation in post-conflict societies pointed to the need for sequencing of tasks such as establishing security, law and order and building strong and capable government institutions in the first place. Their focus, however, has still remained on the state rather than the nation. Through examining two case studies, this thesis emphasises two significant points: 1) achieving successful democratic transformation in conflict-affected societies requires not only the construction of functioning central state institutions but also the creation of a shared sense of national community; and 2) sequencing of post-conflict reconstruction tasks therefore should also involve building a sense of national cohesion through promoting social communication, participation and inclusion in political, institutional and social processes while postponing the competitive or potentially conflictual aspects of democracy. The need to integrate the creation of a sense of shared national community into studies of democracy promotion in societies emerging from conflict stems from the fact that the reconstruction of post-conflict societies involves two separate but complementary and interacting processes. These processes were examined under two headings: state-building and nation-building. The construction of well-functioning, effective government institutions and the achievement of a sense of national community were found to be vital, inter-connected factors to consolidate democratic rule promoted by external actors. The lack of or a weak sense of social cohesion has an undermining effect on the capacity of state institutions to exercise authority and effectively and democratically perform their roles and duties. Failing to deliver their functions to the public and exercise political authority throughout the entire territory, weak state institutions, in return, do not provide a suitable environment for consolidating democratic rule, which requires the execution of the rule of law and protection and guaranteeing of citizens’ political rights.

This thesis investigates the evolution of Australian and New Zealand peacekeeping operations in the Pacific through a trans-Tasman lens. Both Australian and New Zealand sources are used in order to understand the relationship and interaction between the two nations. This study has a particular focus on the Truce Monitoring Group (TMG) sent to Bougainville in late 1997. This New Zealand-led operation was the first long-term regional peace initiative of recent times, and set the stage for future regional interventions by Australia and New Zealand. The thesis also considers more broadly the subsequent involvement of Australian and New Zealand peacekeepers in the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) and Regional Assisted Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). These two later operations are considered with particular attention to lessons learnt from previous peacekeeping experiences and the changing tenor of trans-Tasman relations. Since this is a history thesis it sets the argument within a historical and historiographical framework. It seeks to identify long-term trends surrounding Australia's and New Zealand's relationship with the Pacific, defence connection and Anzac heritage. A further aim of this thesis is to investigate whether joint Australian and New Zealand peacekeeping in the Pacific revived the Anzac relationship first formed at Gallipoli. By looking at evidence taken from interviews and first-hand accounts with Australian and New Zealand participants in the TMG, INTERFET and RAMSI, this thesis argues that hallmarks of the earlier Anzac relationship did re-emerge, though in a slightly different form. The phenomenon of New Zealand's reputation as having a cultural advantage in the Pacific is explored in some detail as this is an important aspect of the Anzac relationship.

Military ethics serve as a normative code of behaviour for the armed forces of a state, acting as a mechanism of definition and control within the force, between the force and its client, and between the force, its adversaries and the wider public. They have two, intrinsically linked, functions: a preventative function, which defines the moral and legal parameters of conduct, and a constructive function, which creates and maintains an effective and controllable force. Preceded by the code of chivalry, they were largely a creation of the era of conventional interstate warfare that was waged across the European continent from the Treaty of Westphalia through to the desolate end of the Second World War; yet, the operations upon which armed forces, and in particular, the New Zealand Army are deployed have changed, dramatically. Wars no longer, current operations are generally justified on moral principles and involve a multinational, joint and interagency deployment sent to intervene in an irregular, intrastate conflict occurring in an underdeveloped region and conducted under the intense glare of the media. This disjuncture between the changing nature of operations and the context in which military ethics were formulated provides the fundamental question for the thesis: if the milieu in which military ethics developed has changed significantly, what is their current utility? Using the New Zealand Army as the frame of reference, first the contemporary operational environment and then the specific operational environment in Timor-Leste were examined to assess the current utility of military ethics. It was found that the preventative function has an increasing utility because it ensures conduct is within expected norms in an era where the perception of the adversary, the local populace and the domestic and international audience is key to operational success. Despite the reduction in conflict intensity, the constructive function has a remaining utility through its mediation and amelioration of the stressors engendered by the growing complexity of the operational environment. The retention of utility for the constructive function appears to have been facilitated by an adaptation of the warrior ethos, from a narrow traditional outlook to a broad and comprehensive modern interpretation.

From their nascent beginnings during World War II to their good governance and capacity building focus under the Post-Washington Consensus of the early 21st century, international development activities have encompassed a particular world view. This world view, founded on Western historical materialism and a normative perspective, rationalizes “the project” as the predominate form of development assistance and the “expert” or “volunteer” as its agent. Yet this approach to development, although at times successful, has often proved to be unsustainable in the absence of international financing and expertise. Still, there is an alternative approach available when one recognizes that what the vast majority of people want is security for themselves, their families, and their lifestyles.1 From this approach, the focus of development is shifted away from what people do not have (be it material comforts, infrastructure, or good governance) and sets it on the critical roles culture, individual growth, and informal association have in community development. In this approach, human agency at the interpersonal level becomes critical in the diffusion of social, political, economic, and technological innovation and, accordingly, the decisive factor in poverty reduction. That is to say, development that can address poverty must come from within the social classes that experience it. To explore how the international development community can act on this alternative approach, this thesis provides a review of the theory, practice, and consequences of international development to the present day and, from that lead, builds a theoretical argument for the individual creative sojourner as a primary messenger of development. In addition, it presents an exploratory case study of creative sojourners in Timor-Leste and, from their ideas and insights, proposes policy considerations for an overseas apprenticeship program that would support the efforts of trades people, agriculturalists, and small entrepreneurs in improving their lives and, in the process, renewing their societies.

This thesis presents an ethnographic study of a small local non-government organisation (NGO) negotiating its way through the complex, multi-layered, postconflict, post-emergency environment of Timor-Leste. This is an environment that remains dominated by the aid industry, an industry that initially came to restore order and provide humanitarian support in the violent aftermath of the 1999 independence vote and stayed on to build a new Timor, in many ways created in its own image. In this environment a small local NGO struggled to maintain not only its vision and mission, but to fit within a new set of externally imposed conditions and regulations in order to serve its communities' needs. / Using ethnographic data gathered in the field over eleven months, this study paints a picture of a post-emergency environment on the ground and in the daily life of a local NGO within that environment. Combining ethnographic and interview data from local and international aid and development practitioners, the study also identifies the internal and external challenges faced by the local NGO in navigating its way through this environment. The internal challenges faced are largely in response to externally imposed conditions, and include the adaptation to new language and communication technologies, new styles of leadership and organisation management, new financial accountability processes and procedures. All of these challenges are coupled with the lack of experienced and skilled staff. The external issues relate to interactions and relationships the local NGO has with the aid industry, and the issues arising out of these engagements including ideological differences, donor dependency, unequal relations, and externally imposed directives. / While acknowledging that these are very real challenges, this thesis argues that it is the underlying factors behind the presenting challenges that are the real barriers to the effective participation of a local NGO in the post-conflict, post-emergency environment. Using post-development writings and Foucauldian theories as a theoretical framework, this thesis explores how thought, ideology and action are governed and controlled by the subtle mechanisms of liberal governance, (particularly in their redefinition), and local language is appropriated and reconceptualised as a tool of governance. It is the inability to understand or detect these subtle mechanisms of governance that often limits the degree to which an NGO can be said to act self-determinedly, or in full awareness of the situation, as they navigate a path through this foreign and often baffling post-emergency environment. / This research adds to the emerging academic body of research on NGOs in postconflict, post-emergency environments. On a practical level it provides aid and development organisations and aid practitioners with a detailed 'insider's' view of the operations of a local NGO and the impacts on a small organisation of externally imposed conditions, regulations and hidden agendas. Finally, it provides field workers intending to conduct research in post-conflict, post-emergency environments with an introduction to the issues and problems associated with this type of research.