East Timor at the Crossroads: The Forging of a Nation [Hardcover]

Peter B. R. Carey (Author, Editor), G. Carter Bentley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

Since the mid-1970s, the former Portuguese colony of East Timor has been under Indonesian military occupation, which has been responsible for the deaths of over 200,000 people, a third of the 1974 population. Yet, against enormous odds, the people of East Timor have continued to fight for their independence. This book provides compelling accounts by Timorese and Western specialists of the process by which a once isolated and traditional society has been forged into a nation with a deep sense of its own identity shaped by its unique religious, cultural, linguistic and historical heritage. Published in association with the Social Science Research Council in New York, the book offers a chronology, maps and an extensive bibliography which should prove especially useful to scholars.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Over 680,000 were killed or died as a result of the war and the poverty caused by the destruction of agriculture, the forced removal of people from their communities, famine and diseases. That figure, Peter Carey argues, constituted over 40 percent of East Timor's preinvasion population.

One has nothing but complete admiration for the authors .. In a period when many scholars are uncritically attracted to the spectacular growth of Southeast Asian capitalism, or are immersed in the depoliticizing world of postmodernism, or have simply remained quiet because they fear the loss of research access, it is encouraging to see scholars who openly support the East Timorese's struggle for self-determination and straightforwardly criticize one of Southeast Asia's remaining despotic regimes. -- The Journal of Asian Studies, August 1996

From the Back Cover

East Timor at the Crossroads: The Forging of a Nation

In a rapidly changing post-Cost War world, where many age-old conflicts and injustices are at last being put to rights, East Timor stands out as a still unresolved tragedy. In the past twenty years (1975-95), this former Portuguese colony has been under Indonesian military occupation, an occupation responsible for the death of over 200,000 of its inhabitants (a third of its pre-1975 population) and the destruction of much of its indigenous society. Yet, despite enormous odds, the people of East Timor continue to fight for the independence which was denied them in the mid-1970s. Twenty years on, there is now a very real chance for a new beginning in East Timor.

This book, which brings together contributions by both East Timorese and Western specialists of East Timor, provides a compelling account of the process by which a once isolated and traditional society has been forged into a nation with a deep sense of its own identity rooted it its unique religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. Indonesia is at last beginning to realize the cost of Third World colonialism, and its Western allies are becoming less tolerant of its 'security state' methods. The last section of this book considers the new diplomatic initiatives which are currently in train, under the auspices of the UN, to bring about a resolution to the Timor problem without jeopardizing the integrity of the Indonesian Republic. An extensive bibliography of titles on East Timor published between 1970 and 1994 will prove especially useful for scholars.

Peter Carey is a Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford, and a specialist in modern Indonesian history. In addition to having written extensively on early nineteenth-century Java, he is a patron of the British Coalition for East Timor. He is the author of The British in Java, 1811-1816, A Javanese Account (1992).

G. Carter Bentley has Southeast Asian Studies and cultural anthropology in several American universities. Currently a consultant specializing in organizational cultural change, Dr. Bentley has written on nationality formation among Philippine Muslims. He is the author of Ethnicity and Nationality: A Bibliographic Guide (1981).

Published in association with the Social Science Research Council, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824817877
• ISBN-13: 978-0824817879
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,294,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)