Decentralization in a post-conflict context : an analysis of the performance of the community empowerment and local governance project in East Timor

Abstract

The overarching aim of this thesis is to draw lessons from the Community Empowerment and Local Government Project (hereinafter CEP) in East Timor which can be used when designing future projects in East Timor and post-conflict contexts elsewhere. On August 30th 1999 an overwhelming majority of the East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia, and the referendum was preceded and followed by a near total destruction of the country. A Joint Assessment Mission led by the World Bank and several other donors concluded that 75 percent of the country s infrastructure had been destroyed and that the entire administrative apparatus had been dismantled. CEP was initiated based on the recommendations by the assessment mission. This project aimed to decentralize development politics by institutionalizing democratically elected village councils which received funding for projects based on proposals. This thesis first describes the performance of CEP as a decentralization program, using Crook and Manor s (1998) three heuristic sub-categories; efficiency, responsiveness and process as a framework, and thereafter explains shortcomings in performance through Crook and Sverrisson s (2002) five variables; central-local relations, the configuration of local structures, participation, allocation of resources and length of time. As part of the analysis it is determined whether the post-conflict impact can be captured through the five explanatory variables mentioned earlier, or if it should be included through an independent variable reflecting the post-conflict context. At the end of the thesis lessons learned and suggestions for future projects are discussed.