A autodeterminação de Timor-Leste: uma introdução

This text offers an introduction to the special theme section on The Self-Determination of Timor-Leste, guest-edited by the author. In the context of Portuguese decolonization, this was a long and turbulent process. Besides the colonial power and the territory itself, it involved Indonesia, the United Nations and several other actors, all of them contributing to its original features. The first article deals with the interactions between Portugal and the East Timorese nationalist movements prior to the publication of the Law on the Decolonisation of Timor; the second discusses the vast array of positions assumed by Portuguese political actors in relation to fulfilling the constitutional mandate to guarantee Timor-Leste’s independence; and the third reviews the intervention of the UN in the initial years of the process.