Dynamics of Democracy in Timor-Leste

Rui Graça Feijó is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, and Associate Researcher at the Institute for Contemporary History, NOVA University of Lisbon.

• Foreword: Revisiting a success story with critical eyes Chapter 1: Democracy in the 21st century: lineages and configurations of an impure concept Chapter 2: Assessing the odds: could Timor-Leste become a Democracy? Chapter 3: Constitutionalism Old and New in the ?UN Kingdom? of Timor-Leste Chapter 4: Elections in a Young Democracy: popular voice and control. Chapter 5: Semi-presidentialism with 'independent' presidents: political inclusiveness and democratic consolidation Chapter 6: Grassroots Democracy: building a decentralized state where worlds meet Epilogue: After 2012: new challenges to the consolidation of Democracy

"Given that the next general elections in Timor-Leste will take place in 2017, this extremely interesting book is a timely and valuable analysis of the state of the polity that will be re-assessed by the people on this occasion. It is a work of knowledge, insight and analysis in which the author demonstrates a passion for his subject ... Every one inside and outside of Timor-Leste who has thought about and cares for democracy as a universal but threatened concept will learn from this book." - Guy Cumes, International Quarterly for Asian Studies, Vol. 47. "This book will be of interest to a wide audience. For those concerned with questions of institutional design and the challenges of its implementation, the book provides a sophisticated account of semi-presidentialism and an encouraging perspective on democratic participation in newly independent states." - Douglas Kammen, National University of Singapore, in Pacific Affairs: Volume 90, No. 4 - December 2017