Timor-Leste: Resilience on the Path to Peace, Reconciliation and Democracy

Timor-Leste’s resilience and resistance history is astonishing but not well known. The island country escaped one of the world’s worst genocides per capita in the late 20th century to become peaceful, stable, and democratic. In an era where conflicts are expanding, democracies are backsliding, and transregional threats like climate change are already affecting coastal populations around the world, Timor-Leste’s success is worth studying and appreciating.
Timor-Leste is the Secretariat and HQs for the ‘g7+’ (www.g7plus.org/our-story) bringing together 20 member countries that are either facing active conflict or have recent experience with conflict and fragility. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ‘ASEAN’ (asean.usmission.gov/) has agreed in principle to Timor-Leste’s member status. The country remains a strong partner in governance platforms such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (www.eiti.org) and has a USG Millennium Challenge Compact in development with nearly all ‘greens’ on its FY23 scorecard (www.mcc.gov/who-we-select/sco....
JSOU Professor Peter Cloutier interviews University founder, president and renowned economist, Dr. Joao Saldanha, who talks about political leadership for, and intergenerational commitment to reconciliation, democracy, and resilience in that will result in continued economic growth in a small island development state.
More about the Presenter:
/ joao-m-saldanha-4176b779
Recommended Reading:
‘East Timor: Development Challenges for the World's Newest Nation’, by Joao Saldanha and Hal Hill (editors)
Highlights (with hyperlinks):
1:20 Dr. Saldanha’s biography
4:10 Goals of the interview
5:50 Joao Saldanha University areas of focus
6:40 Summary of Dr. Saldanha’s presentation to Harvard on Timor-Leste’s benefits to ASEAN
10:35 Membership in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries or ‘CPLP’ and g7+ leadership
13:20 Investments made to achieve stable democracy
16:00 Timor-Leste’s democracy surviving several tests
17:35 Role of external partners
20:40 Guerilla forces transition to formal military as part of democratic resilience
23:00 Basics of ‘getting it right’
27:35 Economic projections
34:00 Concerns with climate change
37:40 Conflict scenarios in worst-case scenarios
43:00 Opportunities for continued growth and contribution to ASEAN
50:00 US history and inspiration for Timor-Leste: the power of innovation regardless of economic situation
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The views expressed in this video are entirely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy, or position of the United States Government, Department of Defense, United States Special Operations Command, or Joint Special Operations University.