Multiple realities: the need to re-think institutional theory

It has been well documented that in Timor-Leste the process of democratisation has involved, and continues to involve, building liberaldemocratic institutions over the top of pre-existing customary governance structures and norms.1 As a result, there is now significant overlap where lisan2 and state law coexist, and it is part of everyday local reality to interact with different institutional structures at different times. This experience is not limited to Timor-Leste: numerous studies have been done, particularly in Africa, describing similar dynamics.3 In most cases, such meetings of worlds wherein ‘state-based’ and ‘customary’ governance interact tend to be viewed by policyand law-makers as two analytically separate ‘sets’ of institutions that interact in various ways—resulting in various outcomes that either support or run against their overall normative agendas. However, while we can analytically separate lisan and state-based governance for academic purposes, within communities this coexistence is not experienced as two separate ‘spheres’ of governance. Rather, the reality is that the twin requirements of lisan and state-based governance are navigated simultaneously on a daily basis, as community members use the resources at hand in order to fill communal needs and to pursue individual agendas.