The UN's Kingdom of East Timor

With its transitional administration in East Timor, the UN is exercising sovereign authority over a fledgling nation for the first time in its history. Such social and territorial control is an increasing trend in international interventions and aims to remedy the breakdown of failed states, to combat warring factions and to topple abusive warlords. But this control could evolve into another form of authoritarianism unless the transitional administrators themselves separate power structures and become accountable to the local population. Peace-maintenance will win legitimacy only if global governors lead by example. Thus far, the UN has not done so in East Timor.