Built for Extraction: Dependence, Sovereignty and Development in Timor-Leste

Abstract

In 2002, Timor-Leste was granted membership to the United Nations (UN) making it the first new State of the twenty-first century. By accepting the authority of the UN and allowing the international development and aid architecture to take over the country, Timor-Leste entered into a relationship of dependency on foreign aid in order to become independent. Today, the country is still pursuing sovereignty on the final frontier of the Timor Sea. Using the overarching notion of ‘extraction’, this thesis argues that Timor-Leste’s path towards self-determination has served the interests of third-party actors who benefit from the development processes of the country while many citizens suffer in poverty. Through an integrated analysis that uses both qualitative and quantitative data, this thesis draws upon scholarship on dependency theory, post-coloniality, and international political economy to explain Timor-Leste’s uneven pattern of development. While these literatures are useful in understanding elements of what has happened in Timor-Leste, they fall short when looking comprehensively at the country’s experience and troubled history. To expand the picture, the thesis further draws upon and applies academic debates on ‘extractivism’ and ‘neo-extractivism’ as they have emerged in Latin American development studies literature. With this focus on extraction, the thesis explains the ongoing ways in which the spoils of development in Timor-Leste remain in the hands of a few. Informed by research spanning eleven months in-country in 2013, and a return period of intensive field work in 2015, this thesis draws from the insights provided by over 50 formal and informal interviews conducted with a large cross section of local and international populations including donors, politicians, activists, students, academics, development workers and everyday citizens. Collectively these sources tell the story of a country that has matured out of a persistent struggle against outside control. Tracing the colonial history of Timor-Leste from the Portuguese traders of the eighteenth century to the Indonesian military rulers of the twentieth century to the intergovernmental aiders of the twenty-first century, the thesis unpacks the country’s ongoing dependency relationships. It demonstrates how the state has increased its revenues and its hold on power due to the presence of natural resources in the country. Applying the notion of an ‘oil complex’ rather than a ‘resource curse’ conceptual framework to analyse Timor-Leste’s resource wealth, this thesis demonstrates that the components of this phenomena are intrinsically linked with Timor-Leste’s fight for sovereignty by the country’s political elite. This effort to assert state sovereignty is made evident through its investment in the petroleum processing infrastructural mega-project ‘Tasi Mane’, an undertaking of dubious benefit for everyday East Timorese. Finally, the thesis argues that there is a dire need for Timor-Leste to diversify its economy, but to achieve this diversification the country and its people will have to overcome past and present dependency relationships in the pursuit of national sovereignty. Taken as a whole, the discussion offers a timely addition to recent debates on development in Timor-Leste, while also providing a useful contribution to critical development studies.