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A Bird Is Known by Its Flight

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A Bird Is Known by Its Flight Fall 08 A Bird is Known By its Flight An exploration of the geostrategic relationship between the United States and Uzbekistan since the War on Terror Michelle Blau A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MPhil. Faculty of Culture and Society. August 2015 Abstract: This thesis is a qualitative case study using process tracing to explore how the need for cooperation on the War on Terror in Afghanistan affected US Government criticism of human rights abuses committed by its ally, Uzbekistan. This thesis is a contribution to the foreign policy discourse on the tension between defense and human rights in Central Asia over the past decade. The case study will demonstrate that the US was willing to remain a passive observer of human rights violations in Uzbekistan, provided the Government of Uzbekistan would cooperate with US geopolitical interests in the War on Terror. The traditional assumption of foreign policy being produced by a unified government acting as a single state has been replaced by a competition of divergent organizations acting upon the interests of their bureaus. During the War on Terror, there was a palpable tension between the different factions of US foreign affairs, and the US Government’s actions were clearly reflective of these diverse interests rather than a unitary actor. Different parts of the US Government jockeyed for influence on foreign policy, with human rights concerns overshadowed by defense interests. The US legislature withheld payments to Uzbekistan in response to concerns over human rights abuses, but the Department of Defense and other senior Bush administration officials continued to seek ways to partner with the Government of Uzbekistan. The examination of US-Uzbekistan relations since the War on Terror provides a clear picture of what happens when geostrategic military interests come into conflict with human rights. The US Government established military cooperation with Uzbekistan quickly after the September 11th terrorist attacks. However, the relationship stalled out in 2005 at the same time as the Government of Uzbekistan opened fire on its citizens during what appeared to be a peaceful protest in the town of Andijan. Defense cooperation stopped completely, and then the US Government was more vocal about human rights abuses. However, once Uzbekistan was needed again for transit in the War on Terror, such human rights concerns became more muted, and Uzbekistan began receiving military aid again. This thesis uses these three critical junctures to analyze the complex causality of geopolitical interests of the US Government in Uzbekistan, including the extent to which outside pressure related to the Andijan massacre in May 2005 served as a tipping point in US Government – Government of Uzbekistan relations. 2 I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. _____________________________________ Michelle Blau 3 Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 7 Methodological Approach ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Research Design ................................................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER TWO: IDEALISM AND REALISM IN US FOREIGN POLICY .......................... 15 Realism .................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Constructivism ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Realism in Cold War Policy ............................................................................................................................................. 20 Liberalism ............................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Ideals as a Justification for Military Action ................................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER THREE: FRAGMENTATION OF A UNITARY ACTOR ...................................... 28 Bureaucratic Logics ............................................................................................................................................. 28 Bureaucracy in the War on Terror ................................................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER FOUR: POST-SOVIET UZBEKISTAN ....................................................................... 41 Foreign Investment in Uzbekistan ................................................................................................................................. 42 Corruption and Drug Trafficking ................................................................................................................................... 43 Regional Perspective .......................................................................................................................................................... 45 Human Rights in Uzbekistan ............................................................................................................................ 51 Politics and Civil Society .................................................................................................................................................. 51 Freedom of Information .................................................................................................................................................... 53 Freedom of Religion ........................................................................................................................................................... 54 Mass Incarceration ............................................................................................................................................................. 55 Extremist Groups ................................................................................................................................................................. 56 CHAPTER 5: THE WAR ON TERROR AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN UZ ................................. 58 Critical Juncture One: the Partnership Begins ............................................................................................ 58 Congressional Restrictions of the Partnership .......................................................................................................... 66 Critical Juncture Two: Andijan ....................................................................................................................... 73 Ending of Cooperation ....................................................................................................................................................... 81 Critical Juncture Three: Northern Distribution Network ......................................................................... 84 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH ................................................. 90 4 List of Figures Figure One: Maps of Uzbekistan and Central Asia ................................... 6 Figure Two: National Security Council Members .................................. 30 Figure Three: US Defense budget since World War II (in billions) ........ 32 Figure Four: GDP per capita all Central Asian Republics ...................... 41 Figure Five: Civil and Political Rights – Global Rankings ..................... 46 Figure Six: Map of the Northern Distribution Network .......................... 86 5 Figure One: Maps of Uzbekistan and Central Asia 6 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The United States (US) Government is not a monolithic entity, either at home or abroad. Dissenting voices and contradictory opinions are cornerstones of a democratic system and are evident in the leadership of the US Government. Within the sphere of international relations, a complex web of individual branches of the US Government work to amplify their own agendas. There is no absolute as to the hierarchy of interests in the sphere of US foreign relations. Instead, there is a natural jockeying among the various bureaus for a premier position of influence from which to achieve their objectives. Privatization of traditional government functions adds an extra layer of complexity and influence. Each leader chooses which voices to listen to and which ones to ignore. Decisions on international affairs may also be driven by external events and their impact on allies or enemies. This thesis is grounded in the key schools of thought on modern international relations and their applicability to US relations with Central Asia and the former
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