Peace

Southeast Asia’s record in promoting the notion of non-violence to achieve state and human security is inconsistent. And, while ASEAN’s commitment to the principle of non-interference has been crucial to maintaining peace among its member states, it has assumed practically no role in diffusing intra-state tensions in the region. 

I made my first trip to Timor-Leste in 2013. At that time, I must confess I had limited knowledge about the country. In contrast with most scholars, I did not learn the country from books; instead, I started to learn about Timorese politics from the lens of human rights and peace by learning its culture and through the stories of the people I met informally.