East Timor, Australia and Regional Order: Intervention and its Aftermath in Southeast Asia (Politics in Asia) - Hardcover

Cotton, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415335809 ISBN 13: 9780415335805

Publisher: Routledge, 2004

Synopsis

This book explains the exceptional nature of the East Timor intervention of 1999, and deals with the background to the trusteeship role of the UN in building the new polity. All of these developments had an important impact on regional order, not least testing the ASEAN norm of 'non-interference'.

Australian complicity in the Indonesian occupation of East Timor was a major factor in the persistence of Indonesian rule in the territory which was maintained for twenty-five years despite international censure and which required an unremitting campaign against the independence movement. This work reviews the reasons for that history of complicity, and explains the extraordinary change of policy that led ultimately to the occupation of the territory by the Australian-led INTERFET coalition.

About this title

Synopsis

The exceptional case of humanitarian intervention in East Timor was a turning point for international relations. East Timor, Australia and regional order highlights how the persistence of Indonesian rule in the region was strongly linked to Australian complicity, and details the progression of East Timor through the struggle against occupation to its final liberation. By 1999, the status of East Timor had become a major global issue, and this highly detailed and up to date account explains the history of Australian complicity and the dramatic policy change that set a precedent for the increasing importance of the UN today. Cotton's broad exploration of the phenomenon also covers the plight of the resistance movement and the crucial part it played in overcoming Indonesian domination. This book is essential reading for students of political science, Asian studies and international relations.

About the Author

James Cotton is a highly respected Australian academic who has written extensively about Asian politics and political thought. A Professor at the University of New South Wales, he is the author of over 150 publications and currently acts as consulting editor of the Australian Journal of International Affairs.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0415335809
• ISBN 13: 9780415335805
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208