The Perception Shocks of Timor's Failed Decolonization Process (1974-1975)

Abstract

This article analyses the reasons, contexts, and actors that led to a failed decolonization process in East Timor in 1974-1975. The article contextualizes the political and ideational environments at play for key actors in the Timor decolonization process, with a focus on the negotiation process between Portugal and Indonesia and the developments in the local political process among Timorese actors. The article presents a multilevel analysis of Timor's decolonization process, linking the contexts of Portugal, Indonesia, Timor and the context of the international structure. It starts from a constructivist and agential vision and underlines the identity and socio-cognitive factors of the negotiation process. Its main argument is that, as important as the material interests at stake, the actors' different perceptions and cultural images resulted in perceptional clashes that undermined the process, precipitated crises, and gave rise to the end of the negotiation path.