Infrastructure and Economic Diversification in Timor-Leste Published: 29 November 2023 Article Timor-Leste’s Infrastructure Fund was created to assist in the process of diversifying the economy, with strong investments so far in transport and power. But to facilitate further economic activities, shifts in government spending and investment into the productive sectors such as agriculture and tourism will lay the path to greater diversification. Joao da Cruz Cardoso
The Power and Potential of Timor-Leste’s Youth in Economic Diversification Published: 29 November 2023 Article Timor-Leste has a high youth unemployment rate and addressing this challenge requires creativity within a multi-faceted approach. Access to financing, education, and further investments such as infrastructure, economic diversification, and promoting small and medium-sized enterprises will improve the economic landscape and offer more opportunities to young Timorese to stay and help grow the nation. Marta da Silva, Eliziaria Febe Gomes
The Stagnant Policy Context of Economic Diversification in Timor-Leste Published: 28 November 2023 Article Economic diversification has been the most important public policy issue in Timor-Leste over the past decade. It has been presented as the alternative path towards sustainable and inclusive economic development but results have not been encouraging. Timor-Leste continues to depend on petroleum, with key issues surrounding institutional settings that are sustained by its easy money. Petroleum provides an easy comfort zone for policymakers and therefore hinders any hard decisions and shifts away from the current status quo. Guteriano Neves
Addressing Institutional Constraints toward Economic Diversification in Timor-Leste Published: 27 November 2023 Article Economic diversification requires a change in policy approach and direction, and changing policy requires changes in institutional settings. This means changing the social and political context that sustains and reinforces existing policies – a delicate challenge that requires political leadership at the very top level. Guteriano Neves
Mobilizing the Future: Timor-Leste’s Permaculture Youth Camps Published: 11 September 2023 Article Explore the transformative power of permaculture in Timor-Leste, where resilience, self-sufficiency, and ecological awareness thrive. Discover how permaculture is reshaping education, empowering youth, and shifting the nation away from international aid dependency. This article brings on a journey through permaculture youth camps, where hands-on learning connects minds to the land. Thomas Stodulka
In Quest for Change in Timor’s Politics Published: 30 March 2023 Analysis Current politics in Timor centers on personalities, history, and using ‘oil money’ as the solution to problems – it cannot cope with the rapidly changing the world and its domestic development challenges. Changing its way of doing politics and the way society is being governed is imperative to address structural issues in Timor’s development and maintain the relevancy and legitimacy of democratic institutions. Guteriano Neves
Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Revenues: The Challenges of Managing ‘Easy Money’ Published: 21 March 2022 Article Since the restoration of independence, the petroleum sector is the dominant sector in Timor-Leste’s economy and for state revenue. While petroleum income enables the government to finance its development needs, it also poses significant challenges for public policy and public institutions in terms of its management. Guteriano Neves
COVID-19 and the Resiliency of State Institutions in Timor-Leste Published: 19 October 2021 Article Besides the public health emergency of the coronavirus pandemic, the social and economic impacts have been felt deeply by the Timorese people. Most of the population work in subsistence agriculture and the informal sector, and lockdown measures mean people often choose between two hard decisions: losing their earnings or becoming infected. Guteriano Neves
The Impact of COVID-19 on Women in Timor-Leste Published: 26 July 2021 Article The outbreak of COVID-19 has been devastating for Timor-Leste. It has overwhelmed the already weak health system, deepened poverty and pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems for women and girls in Timor-Leste. Carmeneza Dos Santos Monteiro
Reflecting Human Rights and Peace in Timor-Leste as an ‘Outsider’ Published: 12 July 2021 Opinion 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. Khoo Ying Hooi
Finding Timor-Leste’s Stolen Children at the 11th Hour Published: 9 September 2020 Article Juliãon is one of a handful of survivors who have been able to find their way to return to Timor-Leste. Without assistance, it is difficult for survivors to gather enough resources and courage to try to relocate their lives. Galuh Wandita
Timor-Leste: Political and Economic Development, and Government’s COVID-19 Response Published: 10 August 2020 Article Over the last three years, Timor’s public discourse in Timor-Leste has been concentrated on the power struggle among the Dili-centered elites on the legitimacy to govern the country. The economic impacts of this political development is the economic stagnation, reflected in the GDP decline. COVID-19 adds another layers to the multitude of challenges that already existed. Guteriano Neves
Timor’s Accession to ASEAN Published: 30 June 2017 Obtaining ASEAN membership has been one of Timor-Leste’s foreign policy goals since 2002. This article discusses the current dynamic in Timor-Leste and what it means to be an ASEAN member. This is based on the domestic context that shapes Timor’s interests. Many commentators have taken a position in advocating for Timor’s membership based on short-sighted policies. At the same time, ASEAN continues to argue that Timor "does not have the capacity”. This article goes further by asking how Timor-Leste can benefit from this membership and what the necessary conditions are for Timor to do so. Guteriano Neves
