James DeShaw Rae's book marks an important contribution to an understanding of the dynamics of the democratic transition in East Timor and the conceptual and practical challenges to transitional justice efforts more generally. Originally a Portuguese colony, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia in 1975 after a very brief stint of independence. The occupation was as brutal as it was thorough; a 2005 report by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) estimates that 102,000 people died, including 19,000 by direct killings and the rest through hunger and disease. Following a guerrilla war against Indonesian forces, the removal of dictator Suharto, and international pressure to resolve the conflict, Indonesian President B. J. Habibe called for a referendum in 1999 to determine East Timor's status. Over three-quarters of voters opted for independence. There followed a period of significant violence initiated by pro-Indonesian Timorese guerrillas, ending only with a military intervention by Australia and its allies (known as INTERFET). Although violence continued, the presence of INTERFET forces permitted the establishment of a transitional authority under United Nations auspices, in effect until East Timor's full independence in 2002. The UN continued smaller-scale missions for the next four years.

East Timor is an important case not only for Indonesian and regional politics but also for broader debates about transitional justice and for the policies and processes employed by states to address a legacy of political violence and repression. As Rae notes, the responses to the past are a product of a transitional society's goals and the constraints and opportunities it faces. In his formulation, there are four broad goals: revenge, peace, justice (retribution), and reconciliation. Each goal has its appropriate underlying motive, method of actualization, and form. Thus, vengeance is motivated by the desire for revenge and is achieved through violence, typically taking place in contexts of “people's justice.” Peace is motivated by a desire for stability, often secured through amnesty, and is carried out through diplomacy. Justice is motivated by retributive demands, its method is judgment, and its form is through legal remedies. Finally, reconciliation is driven by a desire for the restoration of social relations, accomplished by expressions of atonement, and its form is through public hearings and dialogue (p. 5). Each of these goals may be pursued simultaneously, but they can also work at cross-purposes (clearly the case with vengeance and the other goals, though there can be tensions between peace through amnesty and accountability through trials).

This general framework allows Rae to investigate the various policies and strategies employed to deal with the political violence and establishment of a new state (p. 27). The book is organized around three fundamental questions: Did the UN help establish a peaceful state? Did transitional justice satisfy demands for justice and reconciliation? And which model of transitional justice is most appropriate for achieving these aims? (p. 29). Rae argues that the UN played an important role in creating a peaceful state, though transitional justice efforts enjoyed only partial success. His answers to these questions are strengthened by his extensive fieldwork and wide network of contacts on the island, not only among international staff but also among Timorese. His sensitivity to Timorese views of the transition, observations of public reconciliation hearings, and critical examination of UN personnel's (often problematic) assumptions about peace building provide a nuanced appraisal of the transition, one not often found in much of the literature that celebrates Timor as a UN success.

Following the introductory chapter on theories of transitional justice, subsequent chapters establish the necessary background and then proceed with a careful assessment of the transition. Chapter 2 examines the historical roots of conflict on the island, the nature and extent of the violence under Indonesian occupation, the humanitarian intervention, and the implementation of the UN peace operation. Rae notes many positive elements of the intervention. Thanks to a strong international commitment, East Timor secured the necessary support for a relatively well-managed transition to full independence. The Australian intervention helped protect fledgling institutions, and international humanitarian organizations provided much-needed relief for refugees displaced by the chaos caused by anti-independence militias. Chapter 2 provides a clear, well-written summary of these events and nicely establishes a background primer for subsequent chapters.

Chapters 3 and 4 examine the achievements and failures of peace-building and transitional justice efforts. For Rae, there are three main factors that made success likely: First, the territory is small, relatively easy to govern, and close to Australia, the primary supporter of independence efforts. Second, much of the Timorese population was generally receptive, at least at first, to foreign intervention in order to secure independence, having long ago realized that purely indigenous efforts at self-rule would be crushed by Indonesia. Finally, Indonesia itself did not actively oppose Australia's intervention. While there was violence in border areas, often with Indonesian support, international peacekeepers were generally able to provide basic security in the areas where they operated. Rae notes, however, that East Timor had been “utterly devastated by the effects of the Indonesian withdrawal” (p. 29), and this, combined with occasional militia attacks, made establishing a state where none had ever existed especially challenging.

Specifically, the UN struggled with creating a functioning independent judiciary and reintegrating ex-combatants. Still, given the devastation left in the wake of Indonesia's withdrawal, Rae applauds the international efforts at incubating and strengthening necessary governing institutions for self-rule. Additionally, the UN created hybrid (part international, part domestic) war crimes panels and a truth and reconciliation commission that had modestly positive social impacts, though accountability efforts were hampered by the fact that no major Indonesian military officers were prosecuted for supporting militias and that there was little sustained international commitment for building domestic judicial capacity prior to the UN's withdrawal. Perhaps most problematic, UN personnel often ignored the desires and input of the Timorese, and instead pursued policies based on their own assumptions of what the new country needed.

The chapter entitled “Connecting Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice” sets out recommendations for future international peacekeeping missions. Specifically, Rae calls for careful planning during each sequence of a peace operation: 1) peace negotiations, 2) predeployment planning, 3) establishment of security, 4) postconflict peacebuilding, and 5) departure. This chapter is short but rich in recommendations, though the one overarching suggestion is that “the United Nations should encourage less elitism and more discipline among its staff and peacekeepers, including being more open and inclusive toward the local population” (p. 221).

Rae frames his analysis on three conceptually distinct levels: international, state and society, and individual (p. 3). A reader may criticize the book for collapsing state and society as one level when, in fact, they ought to be theoretically separated (thus providing analytical leverage for studying relations between the two). Nevertheless, the book shows a keen awareness of state–society dynamics that addresses these concerns.

Throughout, Rae focuses on the microdynamics of relations between international and domestic participants and institutions. His sensitivity to local actors and his balanced account make this a valuable contribution to our understanding of UN peacekeeping missions. Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice in East Timor provides an empirically nuanced analysis of Timor that will interest area specialists, scholars working on transitional justice and peace building, and policymakers wanting more than a summary of “lessons learned” on Timor.