Enforced Disappearances in Algeria and Turkey
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2016 Individual Criminal Accountability After Civil Wars: Enforced Disappearances in Algeria and Turkey Jessica Mecellem Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mecellem, Jessica, "Individual Criminal Accountability After Civil Wars: Enforced Disappearances in Algeria and Turkey" (2016). Dissertations. 2289. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2289 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2016 Jessica Mecellem ! ! LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO! ! ! INDIVIDUAL CRIMINAL ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER CIVIL WARS: ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN ALGERIA AND TURKEY! ! ! ! A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY! PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE! ! ! ! BY! JESSICA G. MECELLEM! CHICAGO, IL! DECEMBER 2016! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright by Jessica G. Mecellem, 2016! All rights reserved. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS! I am incredibly grateful for the many people whose time and attention have helped to make this project into a reality. First and foremost, thank you to Gunes Murat Tezcur. From the beginning of my graduate career you have asked what I am interested in and listened attentively to my answers. You have a gift. You were able to wade through my confused reflections as an early graduate student, and pull out (over and over again) the essence of what makes me passionate about political science – each time connecting to me work in the field that furthers those lines of inquiry. Your direction and insights have provided a thrilling professional and academic vision that has shaped who I am today. ! Thank you also to the rest of my committee members. Peter Schraeder, you have believed in my potential since before we even met. I am greatly appreciative of how hard you have worked to consistently support and foster my academic and professional career. You have helped me maintain a balanced perspective and inspired me to push beyond my own boundaries. Alex Grigorescu, your consistency and steady support has been invaluable. Thank you for your smart and thoughtful advice at so many different stages of my graduate career. It has been a blessing to be able to count on you in my committee. I am a better scholar because of it. Kathleen Adams, your presence on my committee has encouraged me to embrace my identity as a political scientist who is inspired by and drawn to the anthropological approach. Thank you for your candor and dedication. ! iii There is no possible way that I would be defending this dissertation without the selfless and unending support of my family. Thank you to my Mom and Dad, who were so flexible and willing to pitch in – anytime and all the time. I could not have asked for a better place or community in which to spend this time. To my husband Yacine: you have believed in the value of my work since the day we met, before I even knew I would one day be here. Thank you for your patience, long-term vision, and your inspiring sense of the importance of justice. To my sister Mikaila and Aunt Myrna, thank you for always being such a break and breath of fresh air from my work. You have always listened to me and been willing to look past where I am at, toward where you see me going. ! I must also acknowledge the many incredible people who allowed me into their lives, in both Algeria and Turkey. Thank you to the families and activists, for sharing your stories with me, and for welcoming me into your spaces. It was an honor to be in your midst. I am particularly indebted to Hilal Kina, who provided meticulous interpretation for me during my time in Istanbul. Your friendship and insight were a blessing. Thank you for helping to make a home away-from-home for our family. ! There are three people who deserve special thanks – who are the reason I wrote this dissertation. Thank you to my Nonie, Francyl Cowls Streano, for buying me my first membership to Amnesty International when I was eight years old, and teaching me about prisoners of conscience. Thank you to my Bubbie, Pearl Gawryn, and Zadie, Leon Gawryn. Your lives and legacy inspire me. I work to honor them on a daily basis and pray that through my effort some light will be shed on the darkness. ! ! iv ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! To Leila Nora Mecellem! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.! - Mexican Proverb used to protest disappearances there in 2014! ! ! ! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..………………………………………………………… vii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………. ix CHAPTER ONE: THE SPIRAL MODEL IN CIVIL WAR AND HUMAN RIGHTS TRIALS…………………….………………………………………………………. 1 The Norm of Individual Criminal Accountability at the Domestic Level………….. 3 International Normative Change and Individual Criminal Accountability…………. 5 The Spiral Model of Human Rights Change………………………………………… 7 Review Of Literature Explaining The Emergence Of Human Rights Trials………… 11 Domestic Level Explanations Of The Emergence Of Human Rights Trials………... 15 Explaining The Onset Of Trials In Turkey…….……………………………………. 18 Methodological Approach..………………………………………………………….. 18 Contributions To The Literature…………………………………………………….. 20 Case Selection……….……………………………………………………………….. 24 Outline……………………………………………………………………………….. 29 CHAPTER TWO: METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS……... 31 Comparison of Prior Relationship to Field Sites…………………………………… 31 Political Ethnography ……………………………………………………………… 35 The Process of Data Collection ……………………………………………………. 39 CHAPTER THREE: SUPPORT FOR THE ICA NORM AND MECHANISMS LEADING TO THE EMERGENCE OF TRIALS…….…………………………… 54 Measuring The Impact Of Human Rights Norms On Turkey And Algeria Through The Spiral Model ..……………………………………………..………………… 55 Grass-roots Activity………………………………………………………………… 61 Measurement of Support for ICA ..………………………………………………… 63 Mechanisms Facilitating Domestic Trials………………..………………………… 65 CHAPTER FOUR: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON ALGERIA AND TURKEY- ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN THE CONTEXT OF CIVIL WARS...…… 71 Algerian Civil War ………….……………………………………………………… 73 Turkish Civil War………………………………………………………………….. 80 Civil Wars In Algeria And Turkey Compared...…………………………………… 87 Civil Society Development in the Post-Conflict Period……………………………. 89 CHAPTER FIVE: THE ICA NORM IN ALGERIA, THE SPIRAL MODEL ……… 92 Stage One: Repression……………………………………………………………… 92 Stage Two: Denial Of Human Rights Abuses...……………….…………………… 96 Stage Three: Tactical Concessions ..…………….……………………………….… 102 From Denial Of Enforced Disappearances To Strategic Management Of The Problem ..…………………………………………………………………………. 104 vii Manipulation Of Tactical Concessions: Movement Toward Amnesty…………….. 108 Support For ICA Among Norm Entrepreneurs In Algeria..………………………… 115 Individual Criminal Accountability In Algeria ..…………………………………… 117 Domestic Activity Encouraging The ICA Norm…………………………………… 123 The Legal Complex In Algeria ..…………………………………………………… 127 Conclusions...……………………………………………………………………….. 129 CHAPTER SIX: TURKEY’S PLACE IN THE SPRIAL MODEL AND EXPLANATIONS FOR DOMESTIC TRIALS …………………………………… 131 Tactical Concessions………………………………………………………………... 135 Prescriptive Status? ………………………………………………………………… 139 Impact Of Elite Conflict On The Judiciary………………….……………………… 145 Human Rights Trials…………..……………………………………………………. 149 Domestic Trials For Individual Criminal Accountability For Human Rights Crimes ……………………………………………………………………………. 152 The Mechanism – Redistribution Of Elite Power……………..….………………… 154 Current Explanations Of Human Rights Trials And The Turkish Case…………..… 158 International Level Explanations ……………………………………………….. 158 Domestic Level Explanations……………………………………………………. 161 Redistribution Of Elite Power vs. Judicial Independence……………………..… 162 Redistribution of Elite Power: Key to Changing Judicial Independence…...…… 166 CHAPTER SEVEN: AMNESTIES AND DOMESTIC TRIALS – ELITE POWER AS A KEY VARIABLE ….………………………………………………………….. 173 Explaining Domestic Trials Emergence …………………………………………… 175 International Level Explanations …..……………………………………………. 175 Domestic Level Explanations……………..……………………………………… 179 Domestic Power Shifts …………………………………………………………… 180 Conclusions And Larger Implications…………………..…………………..……… 184 Significance Of Domestic Trials For Contexts Of Civil War………………………. 186 APPENDIX ………………………………………………………………………….. 191 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………….. 196 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Theories Of Trial Emergence…………….………………………………….. 19 Table 2 Interviews By Organization …………….…………………………………… 41 Table 3 Spiral Model Indicators By Phase…………………...............………………. 60 Table 4 Algerian Legislation Regarding Crimes Committed During Civil War……........……………......…………. ……………… 110 Table 5 Human Rights Violation Trials In Turkey Since 2008……………………………………………………………………….… 157 Table 6 Explanations Of The Emergence Of Domestic Trials, Algeria And Turkey Compared………………………………………….. ………………………………… 174 ix! ! ABSTRACT! Increasingly, around the world, individuals are being held criminally accountable for human rights violations (Olsen, Payne and Reiter 2010; Sikkink 2011; Kim & Sikkink