Timor-Leste in 2010 continued to stabilize following the political and social crisis of 2006–08. With strong economic growth and a calm security situation, the year was defined by twin national debates that will dominate the country's long-term future: how to manage its significant energy resources and how best to use the accruing wealth.
Timor-Leste was badly shaken by a violent national crisis from April 2006 to April 2008. Central to the turmoil were the presence and actions of two groups of ex-soldiers from the Timorese army, known as "petitioners" and "mutineers." This article examines their roles in driving the crisis, by empirically mapping their history, motivations, and relationships.
In: The journal of modern African studies: a quarterly survey of politics, economics & related topics in contemporary Africa, Band 45, Heft 4, S. 489-516
ABSTRACTDespite stipulations in the Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that all 'other armed groups' be demobilised by January 2006, the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF) continued to maintain a significant armed presence in South Sudan. This paper analyses the dynamics of the organisation, the impact of its ongoing presence on the security situation and reconstruction efforts, and attempts by the government of South Sudan to counteract the SSDF from January to August 2006. It argues that the strategies implemented by the government to counter the SSDF were fairly successful in that there was no major return to conflict. However, it concludes that the SSDF's continued presence, while hindered, has the potential to spark a return to civil war.