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Crols, Dirk (2006) from Tsarist Empire to League of Nations and from USSR to EU: Two Eras in the Construction of Baltic State Sovereignty

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Crols, Dirk (2006) from Tsarist Empire to League of Nations and from USSR to EU: Two Eras in the Construction of Baltic State Sovereignty Crols, Dirk (2006) From Tsarist empire to League of Nations and from USSR to EU: two eras in the construction of Baltic state sovereignty. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2453/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] FROM TSARIST EMPIRE TO LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND FROM USSR TO EU: TWO ERAS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BALTIC STATE SOVEREIGNTY Thesis submitted by Dirk Crols to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Date of submission: 23 July 2006 Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow Supervisor: Dr. David Smith, Senior Lecturer, Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow. 1 ABSTRACT This thesis examines how the three Baltic countries constructed their internal and external sovereign statehood in the interwar period and the post Cold War era. Twice in one century, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were namely confronted with strongly divided multiethnic societies, requiring a bold and wide-ranging ethnic policy. In 1918 all three Baltic countries promised their minorities cultural autonomy. Whereas Estonian and Latvian politicians were deeply influenced by the theories of Karl Renner and Otto Bauer, the Lithuanians fe"ll back on the historic Jewish self-government in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Many politicians were convinced that the principle of equality of nationalities was one of the cornerstones ofthe new international order, embodied by the League of Nations. The minority protection system of the League was, however, not established to serve humanitarian aims. It only sought to ensure international peace. The League's minority rights catalogue was shaped by the Western European conception of the nation state of which cultural autonomy was not a part. Next to this, the minority protection system of the League created an institutionalisation of inequality between East and West. This lack of a general minority protection system was one of many discussion points in the negotiations of the Estonian and Latvian minority declarations. Although Lithuania signed a much more detailed minority declaration, its internal political situation rapidly deteriorated. Estonia, on the other hand, established full cultural autonomy with corporations of public law. Although a wide-ranging school autonomy was already established in 1919, Latvia never established cultural·self­ government. The Second World War and the subsequent Soviet occupation led to the replacement of the small historically rooted minority groups by large groups of Russian­ speaking settlers. The restoration in 1991 of the pre 1940 political community meant that these groups were deprived of political rights. In trying to cope with this situation, Estonia and Latvia focused much more on linguistic integration than on collective rights. Early attempts to pursue a decolonisation policy, as proposed by some leading Estonian and Latvian policymakers, were blocked by the 'official Europe' which followed a policy analogous to the League of Nations. Only when the policy of normative pressure of the High Commissioner on National Minorities was supported by the European Union's conditionality policy, some modifications to the restorationist policies were made. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6-12 PART ONE: THE BALTIC STATES IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD 13-146 Chapter one: The creation of independent Baltic states in the period 1917-1920 The Russian revolution of 1905 as a turning point 13-14 The theories of Karl Renner and Otto Bauer 15-19 The long-standing corporate-style autonomy for the Germans and Jews in the western borderlands of the Russian Empire 19-23 The outbreak of the First World War and the Russian revolutions of March and October 1917 23-25 Estonia 25-31 Latvia 32-3-9 Lithuania 39-44 Chapter two: The League's vision of statehood and minority rights The League of Nations and sovereignty 45-49 The League's minority protection system 49-62 Chapter three: The Baltic minority declarations and Westphalian sovereignty The entrance of the Baltic states into the League of Nations 63-65 The Lithuanian minority declaration 66-69 3 The history of the adoption of the Latvian minority declaration 70-78 The history of the adoption of the Estonian minority declaration 78-84 Analysis of the arguments put forward in the negotiations and evaluation of the Estonian and Latvian minority declarations 85-88 The Estonian and Latvian 'independence declarations': to guarantee or not to guarantee? 89-91 The minority petitions 91-99. Lithuania and the concept of absolute sovereignty 99-104 Chapter four: The practical operation of personal autonomy in the Baltic states The evolution of Jewish autonomy in Lithuania 105-113 The practical operation of cultural autonomy in Estonia 113-132 The practical operation of personal autonomy in Latvia 133-146 PART TWO: FROM USSR TO EU: NEW MINORITIES ON THE INTERNATIONAL CHESSBOARD 147-242 Chapter five: The restoration of Baltic statehood The disappearance of the old minorities 149-150 The emergence of new minorities 150-153 The restorationist principle 153-155 EC, CoE and the restoration of Baltic statehood 155-157 Restoration of the political community 157-162 Cultural autonomy and other issues of domestic sovereignty in Estonia 162-167 Cultural autonomy and other issues of domestic sovereignty in Latvia 167-171 Cultural autonomy in Lithuania 171-173. 4 Chapter six: IGOs and the minority rights in the Baltic states The CoE and minority rights 176-178 The OSCE and minority rights 178-180 The EC/EU and human rights clauses in international agreements 181-182 The Trade and Co-operation agreements and the Baltic clause 182-185 The EP and the TCAs 185-190 The establishment of OSCE-missions in Estonia and Latvia and the HCNM 190-194 The question of the Aliens law in Estonia 194-198 The CoE and the Latvian Citizenship law 198-203 The Free Trade Agreements and the Bulgarian clause 203-205 The Baltic states and the Stability Pact 205-208 The European agreements 208-211 European institutions vis-a-vis restorationist policy in the period 1995-1997 211-213 Chapter seven: Estonia and Latvia in the EU accession process and the role of the OSCE The European Commission's opinions of July 1997 and the Luxembourg European Council of December 1997 214-218 The system of the Accession partnerships 218-221 The EU and Latvian sovereignty 221-232 The EU and Estonian sovereignty 232-239 The Copenhagen European Council of 12-13 December 2002 239-241 CONCLUSION 242-253 BIBLIOGRAPHY 254-291 ANNEX: Lithuanian minority declaration 292-294 5 INTRODUCTION Research questions Twice in the past 100 years (from 1918-1940 and since 1991), representatives of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have faced the challenge of constructing independent state institutions and national identities on the basis of societies that are (deeply) multi ethnic in character and of negotiating a place within the institutional architecture of a 'New Europe'. This thesis examines how these three nations have tackled the construction of sovereign statehood during these two eras, with particular reference to the provisions made for national minorities. There are two levels to this analysis. The first examines issues of domestic sovereignty, that is to say how the Baltic states organised and regulated the relationship between state and constituent national groups. The second level looks at their relationship with the principal European International Organisations of the day (the League of Nations and the European Union respectively), and assesses what implications this had for their Westphalian sovereignty. The thesis will compare and contrast the approach taken by the three nations during each of the two eras, and will also look at issues of continuity and change between the two eras. Sovereignty has indeed both an internal and an external dimension (Keating (2003:194)). Sovereignty is the assumption that a government of a state is both supreme and independent. It means "a State's general independence from and legal impermeability in relation to foreign powers, and the State's exclusive jurisdiction and supremacy ofgovernmental powers over the State's territory and inhabitants" (Steinberger (1987:404)). The famous legal scholar Oppenheim taught that the sovereignty of a state comprises territorial authority over all persons and things within its borders territory (territorial­ authority), authority over its citizens at home and abroad (personal authority) and independence from any external authority (Oppenheim (1905: 10 1)). 6 Regarding insiders, sovereignty is disclosed by the supremacy of a governing authority over everybody who lives in its territorial jurisdiction and is subject to its laws and politics. Internal sovereignty is a fundamental authority relation within states between rulers "and ruled which is usually defined by a state's constitution (Jackson (1999: 11 )). Domestic sovereignty then has to do with the organisation of public authority within a state. For example, public authority may be concentrated in the hands of one individual or divided among different institutions. There can be federal or unitary structures (Krasner (1999: 11 )). In my thesis, I examine the role of minorities as collective entities in the public authority structures of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. More specifically, I examine whether and what kind of autonomy Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania established for their minorities and highlight the differences between them, both in the inter-war period and in the contemporary era.
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