Returning the Rock and Protecting the Game: Austronesian Custom and Environmental Governance in Timor-Leste

Michael Rose*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    1 Citation (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article explores how in Timor-Leste the implementation of national law is shaped by local conditions. In Oecussi District, the ability of the state to regulate hunting is both constrained and enabled by the continuing importance of indigenous (meto) socio-spiritual frameworks ontologically distinct from those assumed to be normative by both the State and outside actors. Through the case study of a public servant tasked with upholding these laws, I show how in Timor-Leste the seeming stability of centralized control cloaks a more complex reality whereby the daily practice of governance emerges from the interaction of local perspectives on nature and governance with state authorized authority.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)55-69
    Number of pages15
    JournalOceania
    Volume90
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2020

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