Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Totilo, Matthew Alan
Other Authors: Judith Tendler.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50109
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author Totilo, Matthew Alan
author2 Judith Tendler.
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description Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009.
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spelling mit-1721.1/501092019-04-11T12:11:05Z Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste How the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste Totilo, Matthew Alan Judith Tendler. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009. "June 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-101). The failures of post-violent conflict development projects have so far outweighed the successes. In response, international aid organizations have deepened and broadened their dedication to state-building projects across all aspects of institution-building, to include economic, social and political. I chose to examine the implications of this commitment by looking at Timor-Leste's first local governance project and studying the relationship between its two main actors: the World Bank and the National Council of Timorese Resistance. While largely panned as a failure by NGOs, donor organizations and the government of Timor-Leste itself, this project brought the traditional local leadership closer to having a true role in governance than similar efforts by any other actor working in Timor-Leste. A historical analysis of the application of traditional Timorese relationships with outsiders reveals parallel stories of similar partnerships. When in Timor, local leaders described to me an interesting story in the Frente Clandestina, the resistance movement that formed the core of Timor-Leste's proto-government structure. Counterintuitively, this organization was built on a foundation of weak relationships and distrust in order to function as an effective military logistical operation fighting an occupation government. This challenges the literature on social capital, social cohesion and trust which inadequately describes its relevance to recent events. (cont.) Unfortunately, the collapse of this project demonstrates that divergent agendas, inaccurate assumptions about state-building by the international community, and the misuse of terminology such continues to be a fundamental problem. Outbreaks of violence in recent years have highlighted the problems of ineffective institutional construction. Timor-Leste was hailed as a model state "built from scratch", but those rosy predictions have not endured. Its first 10 years of independence can teach us a lot about the principles of legitimacy, democracy and dignity in the post-violent conflict development experience of building institutions. by Matthew Alan Totilo. M.C.P. 2009-12-10T19:13:41Z 2009-12-10T19:13:41Z 2009 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50109 463455101 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 136 p. application/pdf a-em--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Totilo, Matthew Alan
Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title_full Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title_fullStr Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title_full_unstemmed Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title_short Development in the shadows : how the World Bank and the Frente Clandestina almost built a new government in Timor-Leste
title_sort development in the shadows how the world bank and the frente clandestina almost built a new government in timor leste
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50109
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