Police Reform in Ukraine Since the Euromaidan: Police Reform in Transition and Institutional Crisis
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2019 Police Reform in Ukraine Since the Euromaidan: Police Reform in Transition and Institutional Crisis Nicholas Pehlman The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3073 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Police Reform in Ukraine Since the Euromaidan: Police Reform in Transition and Institutional Crisis by Nicholas Pehlman A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2019 © Copyright by Nick Pehlman, 2018 All rights reserved ii Police Reform in Ukraine Since the Euromaidan: Police Reform in Transition and Institutional Crisis by Nicholas Pehlman This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Political Science in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date Mark Ungar Chair of Examining Committee Date Alyson Cole Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Julie George Jillian Schwedler THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Police Reform in Ukraine Since the Euromaidan: Police Reform in Transition and Institutional Crisis by Nicholas Pehlman Advisor: Mark Ungar Why does reform of law enforcement remain so elusive in post-communist countries like Ukraine, despite political upheaval, a public mandate for reform and substantial international assistance? Which components contribute to the success and sustainability of a police reform and which factors produce political will from political leaders to implement the difficulties of police reform? This dissertation argues that in addition to massive corruption and the politics of insecurity, the greatest challenges to reform of Ukraine’s law enforcement system is political competition, resulting in the politicization of law enforcement institutions and law enforcement policy. Political competition is based in Ukraine’s fractured political system which has been unstable since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. This dissertation takes an inductive approach to studying the politics of police reform by providing a process-tracing narrative of previous and contemporary efforts to address ongoing issues of policing in Ukraine and demonstrates how reforms have been shaped by various political and social conditions over time. The narrative of this dissertation is that while the problems plaguing Ukraine’s police are systemic and long standing, partial police reform become possible under certain conditions. While pluralism and political competition are often necessary to pressure political leaders to enact costly reforms of the police, an excess of political competition or political instability (as in the case of Ukraine) will typically disincentivize political leaders from supporting police reform by increasing uncertainty about the future political order, public fears of disorder, and will prompt more intense political competition over control of law enforcement. This is because in hybrid regimes like Ukraine, the police play an essential role in determining the political balance through extra-democratic power politics such as arresting regime opponents or determining which protests will be permitted. Hence the police’s support of the regime is critical to maintaining political power and since police are opposed to any reforms which will strip them of resources, powers or autonomy, enacting comprehensive police reform becomes a costly decision for political elites, undertaken only reluctantly in the face of intense pressure from civil society and international partners in the wake of a scandal which raises policing on the political agenda. This means that the status quo towards policing policy is political inaction by decision makers and even in the event of a catalyst such as a police scandal political pressure for police reform is often difficult to sustain under the inevitable resistance from entrenched elite. This dissertation argues that in the case of Ukraine the keys to a successful and sustainable police reform in certain parts of the police have been: first, insulation of new police institutions from politicization and patrimonial staffing to ensure their independence and impartiality; and second, institutional design which mandates transparency mechanisms, accountability procedures and civilian oversight in the staffing, promotion and activity reporting of police. In other words, this dissertation argues that the types of police reforms most iv likely to be successful and sustainable are those with large and effective coalitions including civil society, western support, and most importantly institutional design which allows for political insulation and mechanisms that allow for public participation, transparency and oversight. In the absence of these components, reforms that lack a unified and stable reform coalition to produce continued political pressure will likely be abandoned shortly after the public attention moves on from a given police scandal. Nearly four years after the Euromaidan revolution, events in mid- 2018 provides a colorful montage of the various challenges to reform of law enforcement in Ukraine at a critical juncture. Ukraine’s success in navigating these and the other challenges described in this dissertation will determine the future of its law enforcement institutions, the rule of law, and the political system in Ukraine in its fourth republic. v Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………..……….iv Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..…..vii Acronyms (Terms and organizations) …………………………………………….…….viii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………...……...ix INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………...………..…………1 CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL ROOTS OF UKRAINIAN POLICING……………...………23 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……………………………...……………..85 CHAPTER 3: STRUCTURAL REFORMS………………………………….………………134 CHAPTER 4: LEGAL AND PROCEDURAL REFORMS…………………………………186 CHAPTER 5: PROFESSIONALIZATION REFORMS……………………………...…….230 CHAPTER 6: ACCOUNTABILITY REFORMS……...……………….…………………...294 CHAPTER 7: COMMUNITY RELATIONS REFORMS……………....…………………..335 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION……………….……………………….………………………375 Appendix………………………………………………………….…………………….391 Sources Cited…………………………………………………………………………...402 vi Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the support from my advisors, professors, and colleagues at the GC, as well as friends and colleagues in Ukraine. From the Graduate Center I would like to thank my advisors Mark Ungar, Julie George and Jillian Schwedler for agreeing to serve as my dissertation sponsors through this lengthy process. I am grateful for your scholarly advice, revisions, and words of encouragement and I am honored to have you as my dissertation sponsors. Thank you for believing in me and in this project. I would also like to thank the members of my cohort at GC for providing both scholarly and emotional support over these past five years. I am grateful to the Graduate Center both for providing me the privilege and opportunity to pursue a doctoral education and conduct research in Ukraine. From the University of Toronto, I would also like to thank Peter Solomon and Matthew Light for being thoughtful and thorough readers of earlier drafts and chapters of this dissertation and for providing expert feedback and clarification. Special thanks as well to the staff of the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, in particular, Candace McCoy and Shamus Smith for helping me to understand American policing and oversight. The Boren Fellowship and the Doctoral Student Council (DSC) also provided critical financial support for the research presented here. From Ukraine I would like to offer a special thank Rob Peacock for providing me the opportunity to live and work in Kyiv and to observe firsthand the reform of the Ukrainian police. The access and understanding that I gained was invaluable and, this dissertation would not have been possible without you providing me the opportunity to work for you. I am extremely indebted to the other members of the ICITAP Ukraine staff in particular Svyatislav Kustinov, Bohodar Kovaliv, Marta Bastisiuk, Goga Grigalishvili, Olga Zadarozha, Anastasia Leukhina and many others for their patience spending countless hours explaining to me the intricacies of Ukrainian police, civil society, and local politics in Ukraine. I consider you all my friends. I am also very grateful to the dozens of amazing Ukrainian police officers that I had the honor of meeting and speaking with, but who, for obvious reasons, cannot be named here. Your contributions have been invaluable in preparing this dissertation and your noble struggle to reform your service and country is among the most important steps towards democratization in Ukraine. I am extremely indebted to the Ukrainian expert community; first and foremost, members of the UMDPL in particular Eugene Krapyvin, Serhii Pernyikoza, Serhii Bahlaii and others. Thank you for the long interviews over coffee and for clarifying the intricacies and nuances of Ukrainian policing, human rights and politics. I would also like to thank other Ukrainian experts and