Building What Peace in Timor-Leste? UN Intervention, Bottom-Up Dynamics and (In)formal Processes

Location

Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, E/F

Free

Please join us for a brown bag discussion with visiting scholar Dr. Maria Raquel Freire.

No RSVP is required.

This session will discuss the role of the United Nations (UN) in the process of building peace in Timor-Leste, looking at the differentiated presences of the UN and how it has contributed to the consolidation of the Timorese state. Adopting a critical approach towards what might be understood as the building of a ‘technical peace’ or ‘peace as governance’, it is argued that models of intervention need to be flexible and comprehensive in face of challenging contexts. The integration of the local dimension in peacebuilding processes, and the definition of ways of articulation between formal and informal policies and practices are fundamental in this regard. The case of Timor-Leste will serve as an illustration of the challenges faced, lessons learned and possible ways ahead.

Maria Raquel Freire is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies and professor of International Relations at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra. She received her PhD in International Relations from the University of Kent, United Kingdom, in 2002. Her research interests focus on peace studies, particularly peacekeeping and peacebuilding; foreign policy, international security, Russia and the post-Soviet space.