A Web of Authorities: State Formation in Timor-Leste

• Date & Time : Tuesday, 13 November, 2018, 12:00-13:00
• Speaker : Dr. MinJi Yoo (SNUAC)
• Chair/Discussant : Dr. Kyunghee Choi (SNUAC)
• Place : Room #406, SNUAC(Bldg#101)
• Organizer : SNUAC
• Inquiry : Heejin Choi / +82-2-880-2693 / heejinchoi@snu.ac.kr

Dr. MinJi Yoo has received her Ph.D. degree from the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester. She is visiting Seoul National University Asia Center (SNUAC) as a visiting scholar and is currently conducting research on the statehood of Timor-Leste using the holistic legitimacy concept. Her main research topics include post-liberal peace, hybridity, state theory in the Global South, and indigenous methodology.

The seventh Asia Square Brown Bag Seminar invited Dr. MinJi Yoo who is the first person in Korea to receive a doctoral degree on Timor-Leste, one of the eleven Southeast Asian countries. The seminar began with explanations on the historical background of East Timor and various authorities embedded within its history. Dr. Yoo examined the processes that have occurred in Timor-Leste during the Portuguese colonization period through its independence from Indonesia as well as its development of a governance system. The coexistence of the ‘state’, the traditional value system ‘Lulik’, and the ‘Catholic Church’ and its significance were discussed at the seminar. Dr. Yoo explained the formation and stability of the governance system in Timor-Leste despite its so-called ‘weak state’ by using the concept of the ‘web of authorities.’ The seminar ended with discussions on future tasks for region-based theoretical discoveries on the knowledge production dimension.