Incomplete Secession after Unresolved Conflicts: Political Order and Escalation in the Post-Soviet Space

✍ Scribed by Ana Maria Albulescu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 255
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book analyses cases of incomplete secession after separatist wars and what this means for relations between central governments and de facto states. The work explores the interplay between violence and power by examining the micro-dynamics inherent in the process of escalation between separatists and central governments. These dynamics affect not only the security interactions between these entities, but also the character of political and governance relations that are built in the aftermath of secessionist war. The book provides comprehensive analyses of the evolution of post-conflict relations between the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria and between Georgia and South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Beyond these empirical and conceptual examples, the book contributes to a key debate in International Relations that addresses the relationship between democratisation, nationalism and violence, and its applicability to the study of escalation in the post-Soviet space. This book will be of much interest to students of secession, statehood, conflict studies, democratisation, post-Soviet politics and International Relations in general.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Themes and contributions
Argument in brief
Chapter overview
Bibliography
Part I: Contested concepts: De-facto states and the exercise of authority in the aftermath of secessionist war
1. From secessionist wars to incomplete secession
Introduction
Incomplete secession
Norms and practices of international recognitions
The study of unrecognised states: Towards an understanding of the conditions of incomplete secession
Accounting for the lack of international recognition of unilateral secession: From 'frozen conflicts' to exploring the birth of de-facto states
Accounting for the consolidation of parallel authority exercised by de-facto states: Arguments related to state-building and democratisation
Accounting for dynamic state contestation: Arguments related to escalation in the relationship with the host state
Limitations of existing research
The need for conceptual innovation
Lack of comprehension across cases of the third condition of incomplete secession
The need for further integrated case study research with regards to elections under specific conditions of incomplete secession
Conclusion
Bibliography
2. Post-conflict political order: Conceptualising the exercise of authority under conditions of incomplete secession
Introduction
The study of political order
Order, violence and the centrality of the state
Political order and war to peace transitions
Post-conflict political order under conditions of incomplete secession
The two dimensions of political order
The functional domains of political order
The political arena
The governance arena
The security arena
The levels of intensity of antagonism
Mutual accommodation
Chronic stalemate
Acute confrontation
Escalation and the politics of secession and counter-secession
Conclusion
Bibliography
Part II: Political order and escalation in the post-Soviet space
3. Political order and escalation in the Republic of Moldova: Between accommodation of secessionist demands and stalemate with Transnistria
Introduction
Conditions of incomplete secession
The emergence and consolidation of post-conflict political order
Accommodating Transnistria's secessionist demands between 1992 and 2001
The Joint Control Commission and security interactions in the aftermath of ceasefire 1992-1995
Collaborative governance arrangements and the focus on socio-economic cooperation 1995-1999
Reciprocal political talks in the framework of the common state 1997-2001
Escalatory tendencies and the failure of mediation efforts between 2001 and 2006
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the governance functional domain: From collaborative governance arrangements to competing institutions for reintegration
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the security functional domain: From dispute to violent crises
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the political functional domain: From reciprocity to rivalry
The Kozak Memorandum
New plans for settlement - The Yushchenko plan
Elections, nationalism and the competing politics of secession and counter-secession
The election of Vladimir Voronin in the Republic of Moldova: The end of accommodating Transnistria's secessionist demands
Voronin's re-election
Parallel electoral tests in Transnistria and the strengthening of the politics of secession
Conclusion
Bibliography
4. Political order and escalation in Georgia: The failure to accommodate Abkhazia's secessionist demands
Introduction
Conditions of incomplete secession
The emergence and consolidation of post-conflict political order
International mediation efforts and Georgia's policies in accommodating Abkhazia's secessionist demands between 1993 and 1997
The establishment of political reciprocity between elites
Stabilisation of the security environment and the establishment of collaborative governance arrangements
Escalatory tendencies in the period 1997-2005
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the security and governance functional domains
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the political functional domain: from political reciprocity to political rivalry
The Boden paper
The rise of nationalism in Georgia
Presidential and parliamentary elections in Abkhazia and the strengthening of the politics of secession
Conclusion
Bibliography
5. Political order and escalation in Georgia: From stalemate to confrontation with South Ossetia
Introduction
Conditions of incomplete secession
Post-conflict political order and stabilisation efforts in the aftermath of ceasefire
Maintaining security in the aftermath of ceasefire
Creating structures for political reciprocity- status proposals
Collaborative governance arrangements at formal and informal levels
Changes in the level of antagonism in post-conflict political order: Towards chronic stalemate with South Ossetia in the period 2001-2004
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the political functional domain: From political reciprocity to rivalry
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the governance functional domain: Towards competing governance arrangements
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the security functional domain
Acute confrontation in the period 2004-2008
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the security functional domains: From violent crisis to severe crisis
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the political functional domain: From political rivalry to hostility
The process of escalation and the exercise of authority in the governance functional domain: From competition to clashing governance arrangements
Elections and escalation towards the level of intensity of acute confrontation
Georgia's elections and the Rose Revolution
Elections in South Ossetia 2004-2006
Escalation, and the nationalistic state-building projects of Georgia and South Ossetia
Conclusion
Bibliography
Part III: Understanding the dynamics of post-conflict political order
6. Democratisation, elections and the politics of secession and counter-secession: Understanding escalation in political order
Introduction
Drivers of change behind escalation in political order: Between Russian leverage and the crucial role of elections in metropolitan and de-facto states
Democratisation and war in post-conflict environments
Democratisation and elections in the post-Soviet space
Information gathering throughout the electoral period
Information regarding public support and the claiming of presidential mandates
Parallel electoral calendars: Information regarding the fragmentation of self-determination movements and their political agendas
Multiple voting cycles: Voter fatigue and additional information regarding public support
Legitimacy claiming towards the implementation of the politics of secession and counter-secession
Claims to internal legitimacy, presidential mandates and the turn to nationalism
Voronin's nationalism and the strengthening of the politics of counter-secession in Moldova
From nationalism in Abkhazia and the strengthening of the politics of secession to parallel nationalism and state-building in Georgia and South Ossetia
Conclusion
Bibliography
7. External actors and the principles of the liberal international order: Addressing the crisis of the nation state
Introduction
Post-Cold War multilateralism and the principles of liberal international order
International mediation in Moldova and Georgia
Addressing the crisis of the nation state: The lack of consensus on 'engagement without recognition'
Conclusion
Bibliography
Conclusion
Key findings and contributions
The need to study conditions of incomplete secession
The need for conceptual innovation: A focus on political orders
Implications for future research
Policy implications
Bibliography
Index