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Promoting Democracy? the Role of Transnational Non-State Actors in Inter-American Relations 1980-1993

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Promoting Democracy? the Role of Transnational Non-State Actors in Inter-American Relations 1980-1993 Mara Sankey Promoting Democracy? The Role of Transnational Non-State Actors in Inter-American Relations 1980-1993 Mara Elizabeth Sankey UCL Research Degree: History 1 Mara Sankey I, Mara Elizabeth Sankey, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I can confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Mara Sankey Abstract This thesis examines the role of three non-state actors -- Freedom House, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) -- in the creation and implementation of US policy towards Latin America from 1980 to 1993. The Reagan administration oversaw a key change in US Latin American policy to a focus on democracy promotion, which took over from Carter’s human rights policy as the moral justification for US policy towards the region. This created a tension in the US between the liberal human rights movement of the 1970s and a new neo-conservative human rights movement which supported Reagan’s democracy promotion policies. The years that frame this study cover the establishment of democracy promotion as the primary inter-American policy. Moreover, the inclusion of the early 1990s allows for an assessment of the extent to which this policy changed after the end of the Cold War. This thesis will take a comparative approach allowing me to examine the role played by different types of non-state actors as well as the relationships between the Reagan administration and both the liberal and neo-conservative human rights movements. Furthermore, this thesis will provide two case studies (Chile and Nicaragua) to examine how these organisations interacted with US foreign policy in the context of specific Latin American countries. The first four chapters of this thesis examine the three organisation’s various backgrounds, their sources of funding and their networks in the US and Latin America, while the final two chapters examine the consequences of these findings for their policies towards Chile and Nicaragua. This research hopes to contribute to the historiography of human rights, of inter-American relations and of the interactions between non-state actors and the US government. 3 Mara Sankey Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 9 Historiography ............................................................................................................ 10 i) Defining Human Rights .................................................................................... 11 ii) Non-State Actors........................................................................................... 14 iii) Human Rights, Non-State Actors and Inter-American Relations ................. 17 iv) Promoting Democracy .................................................................................. 19 Periodisation and Definitions ...................................................................................... 21 Case Studies ................................................................................................................ 24 Methodology ............................................................................................................... 29 Sources ........................................................................................................................ 30 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 1 - Democracy or Human Rights? Founding Principles and Changing Priorities ......................................................................................................................................... 36 Founding and Personnel .............................................................................................. 37 Principles, Purposes and Ideologies ............................................................................ 47 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 69 Chapter 2 - “If you have your hand in another man’s pocket, you must move when he moves”: Funding and Organisational Structures ............................................................ 74 Donors: Influence, impact and limitations .................................................................. 78 Internal structures: Freedom, compromise and professionalisation ............................ 98 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 110 Chapter 3 - Political Networks: NED, Freedom House, WOLA and the US Government ....................................................................................................................................... 116 The White House....................................................................................................... 118 The State Department ................................................................................................ 131 Congress .................................................................................................................... 144 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 155 Chapter 4 – Working Networks: NED, Freedom House, WOLA and the Third Sector ....................................................................................................................................... 160 Other US Non-State Actors ....................................................................................... 161 Latin American Actors .............................................................................................. 188 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 195 Chapter 5 – Chile: “The Lesser Evil” Democracy Promotion for the Greater Good? .. 200 Implementation of Principles .................................................................................... 211 The 1988 Plebiscite ................................................................................................... 224 Chapter 6 – Nicaragua: Democracy Promotion as a Form of Aggression? .................. 237 4 Mara Sankey Implementation of Principles .................................................................................... 250 The 1990 Election ..................................................................................................... 259 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 269 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 283 Primary Sources ........................................................................................................ 283 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................... 290 5 Mara Sankey Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has contributed to the work presented in this thesis. First, I would like to extend particular and heart-felt thanks to my supervisors Nicola Miller and Sarah Snyder without whose help and support none of this would have been possible. Their knowledge and patience has been invaluable. Special thanks also to Alex Goodall for stepping in as second supervisor for the final year. I would like to thank Gil Gott and Sumi Cho for their suggestions, proofreading, travel planning and calming influence over the last four years. Particular thanks also go to my parents for their role in facilitating this thesis. Without their help and generosity this PhD would have remained a dream. Thanks also to the friends who kept me going and believed in me: Edd, Raj, Cosmo, Camila, Nora and Blair. This would have been so much harder without their grounding (and distracting) influence. I dedicate this thesis to them and my family. Finally, a special mention for the staff at the Princeton Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Duke University Library and the Library of Congress for the help they gave me during my time in the US. 6 Mara Sankey Glossary of Acronyms AFL-CIO American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations AIFLD American Institute of Free Labor Development AoJ Administration of Justice APF American Political Foundation ARDE Alianza Revolucionaria Democrática CAPEL Inter-American Center for Electoral Promotion and Assistance CAWG Central America Working Group CDT Central Democrática de Trabajadores CFJ Centre for Foreign Journalists CIA Central Intelligence Agency CI-IR Catholic Institute for International Relations CIPE Center for International Private Enterprise CNT Comando Nacional de Trabajadores CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists CSE Supreme Electoral Council CSO Civil Society Organisation CUS Confederación de Unificación Sindical CUT Central Unitaria de Trabajadores FMLN Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Naciona FTUI Free Trade Union Institute GBGM General Board of Global Ministries ICS Institute for Contemporary Studies 7 Mara Sankey IHRLG International Human Rights Law Group INSI Institute of North-South Issues IPS Institute of Policy Studies NDI National Democratic Institute for International Affairs NED National Endowment for Democracy NEPL National Endowment
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