Unfaithful Allies: Local Resistance and the Failure of Statebuilding

City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2016 Unfaithful Allies: Local Resistance and the Failure of Statebuilding Ervin Kallfa 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/750 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] UNFAITHFUL ALLIES: LOCAL RESISTANCE AND THE FAILURE OF STATEBUILDING IN THE WESTERN BALKANS by ERVIN KALLFA 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 2016 Ervin Kallfa © 2016 ERVIN KALLFA All Rights Reserved ii Ervin Kallfa Unfaithful Allies Local resistance and the failure of statebuilding by Ervin Kallfa This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Political Science to satisfy the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Professor Susan Woodward Date Chair of Examining Committee Professor Alyson Cole Date Executive Officer Professor Irving Leonard Markovitz Professor Christa Altenstetter Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Ervin Kallfa Unfaithful Allies: Local resistance and the failure of statebuilding in the Western Balkans Adviser: Professor Susan Woodward International efforts to build strong and legitimate states in developing societies often present a paradox. In many instances they are undermined by the resistance of very local actors with whom the Union partners up. The form that this resistance takes varies by country. In some instances the domestic partners show open defiance. In other cases they formally conform, while working behind the scene to undermine statebuilding. My dissertation examines the factors that shape the domestic resistance to statebuilding projects by examining EU statebuilding in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia. I claim that resistance is the product of the interaction between statebuilding and domestic politics, a process which often generates friction. The main cause of friction is the fact that statebuilding affects how power is distributed in a given society. The local partners will be motivated to resist those aspects of statebuilding that they believe will undermine their authority/power, have a negative impact on local populations, or contradict local values. On the other hand, the local partners will support those aspects of statebuilding that provide them with opportunities to enhance their position, are not threatening to important domestic constituencies, and do not challenge local norms or beliefs. I contend that it is this dual aspect of statebuilding, its potential to both strengthen as well as replace local powerholders, that shapes the local reaction to the international mission, i.e., acceptance or resistance. Resistance to statebuilding is puzzling because of the alleged asymmetric interdependence between local actors and international statebuilders. This asymmetric interdependence is presumably caused by structural conditions, such as the local dependence on the military and financial resources of the statebuilders. I will argue in this essay that local resistance is made possible by a second set of structural conditions that attenuate the asymmetric interdependence, iv Ervin Kallfa such as the statebuilders’ prioritization of security over institutional reform or divisions among statebuilders. The corollary to this is that the state is neither the product of foreign imposition nor does it represent a rejection of alien institutions. Instead, the state is the result of bargaining between the locals and the interveners, a bargain that is shaped by structural conditions. I contend that the form of resistance is influenced by the domestic legitimacy of statebuilding. If statebuilding is legitimate in the eyes of the local population, the domestic partners do not engage in open resistance, otherwise they do. While both forms of resistance can be equally successful at undermining international statebuilding, I maintain that the form that resistance takes is important. Overt resistance not only undermines those institutions that are opposed by the locals, but it also challenges the ideological hegemony of statebuilders and opens up the possibility for the development of alternative ways of organizing the state. This dissertation compares EU’s efforts to reform the civil services of Albania and Macedonia and the judiciary of Kosovo so as to shed light on the dynamic of domestic resistance to statebuilding. v Ervin Kallfa Acknowledgment Writing a dissertation is a long and lonely journey, which can wear out even the most spirited individuals. I consider myself fortunate that in this endeavor, I have had the opportunity to rely on the support of many wonderful people. Among those people who have encouraged, guided, and pushed me to always reach for my best, I first have to give recognition and thanks to my advisor, Professor Susan Woodward. During my years at the Graduate Center, she has been the one faculty member who I have always relied for support. In addition, my two other committee members, Professor Irving L. Markovitz and Christa Altenstetter provided valuable comments on my work, which have greatly improved the final product of my study. During my field research in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia, I was assisted by many family members, new friends, and even strangers who went above and beyond in facilitating my work in that corner of the world. They are too many to mention individually, but I want to give special thanks to Elton Skendaj, who was generous enough to introduce me to his extensive network in these three countries. My parents have made tremendous sacrifices so that I could pursue my education in the United States, and to them I am greatly indebted. Finally, my wife, Fariah, has supported me during some of the most difficult parts of this journey, read and edited countless drafts of my dissertation, and had to endure a husband who was often absent because of his academic pursues. To her I dedicate my dissertation. vi Ervin Kallfa Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction p. 1 Chapter 2 Statebuilding EU Style p. 47 Chapter 3 Albania: The Silent Opposition p. 70 Chapter 4 Kosovo: Confronting the War Legacies p. 116 Chapter 5 Macedonia: The Nationalist Backlash p. 162 Chapter 6: Conclusion p. 211 Bibliography p. 245 vii Ervin Kallfa List of Tables 1.1 Summary of the argument p. 10 2.1 Acquis communautaire p. 53 3.1 SIGMA’s principles for civil service reforms p. 84 3.2 SIGMA annual reports recommendations for Albania p. 85 3.3 European Partnership recommendations for administration reforms in Albania p. 86 3.4 SAP annual report recommendations for administrative reforms in Albania p. 86 3.5 Intersectional Strategy for Public Administration Reform (SNAP) 2013 p. 89 4.1. EUSR’s mandate in Kosovo p. 119 4.2. European Partnership requirements for Kosovo p. 120 4.3 European Partnership judicial reforms requirements for Kosovo p. 132 4.4 EULEX’s initial goals p. 133 5.1 Accession Partnership priority areas for Macedonia p. 167 5.2 Statebuilding elements of OFA p. 169 5.3 EU financial assistance to Macedonia p. 173 5.4. Macedonia’s European Partnership administrative reform requirements p. 178 5.5 Macedonia’s SAP annual report administrative reform recommendations p. 178 5.6. SIGMA’s principles for administrative reforms in Macedonia p. 180 5.7 SIGMA’s annual reports recommendations for Macedonia p. 180 5.8 Civil service reforms demanded by OFA p. 181 List of Charts 3.1 Popular support for EU integration in Albania p. 81 3.2 Murder rate in Albania 1997-2010 p. 97 viii Ervin Kallfa 3.3 Taxes as a share of the GDP in Albania p. 97 3.4 Albanian confidence in various institutions p. 111 3.5 Albanian public opinion on international relationships p. 111 4.1. Support for EU integration in Kosovo p. 128 5.1 Public support for EU integration in Macedonia p. 174 5.2. Murder rate in Macedonia 2000-2010 p.193 ix Ervin Kallfa Chapter 1 Introduction Statebuilding is a ubiquitous activity that involves efforts by international actors, such as international and regional organizations or great powers, to rebuild allegedly weak and failed states, i.e., non-Western states, which it is claimed do not function as modern states are supposed to. Despite all the attention and resources that rebuilding states has received, it is difficult to find many (some may say even any) successful examples of statebuilding. The most egregious failures that have led to questioning whether international statebuilding can ever succeed are those of Iraq and Afghanistan, where despite the expenditure of enormous sums of money and years of international (mainly American) tutelage there is not much to show with regard to building strong and legitimate states, and, one can even claim that at the present (2015) both states are weaker than they were before the international intervention. While many reasons have been offered to explain the dismal performance of statebuilding missions, and I will provide an overview of them later in this chapter, this dissertation will examine one of the causes of statebuilding failure that is both peculiar and, at first look, counterintuitive: the resistance of the local partners of the international actors, i.e., the resistance of those local actors who are supposed to cooperate with the internationals in implementing the statebuilding reforms. I first became interested in this topic in the fall of 2010, while doing research on statebuilding in Afghanistan. The material that I surveyed seemed to show that one of the principal opponents of the US statebuilding efforts was surprisingly America’s main man in Kabul, President Karzai. Further research in other statebuilding cases seemed to confirm that those local actors who were allegedly partnering up with the international statebuilders often undermined the very projects that they were in charge of implementing.

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