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Copyright by Julie Alynn George 2005 the Dissertation Committee for Julie Alynn George Certifies That This Is the Approved Version of the Following Dissertation Copyright by Julie Alynn George 2005 The Dissertation Committee for Julie Alynn George certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Separatism or Federalism? Ethnic Conflict and Resolution in Russia and Georgia Committee: Robert G. Moser, Supervisor John Higley Zoltan Barany Harrison Wagner Kenneth Greene Charles King Separatism or Federalism? Ethnic Conflict and Resolution in Russia and Georgia by Julie Alynn George, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2005 Dedication To my father, Paul Richard George, and my mothers, Jean S. George and Patricia Aulbach Acknowledgements I owe many debts to those who offered support and guidance during the dissertation process. I have been lucky to have a superb dissertation advisor and mentor in Rob Moser, who tirelessly offered support and advice throughout my graduate career, in particular its culmination in this project. My dissertation committee has been active throughout the process. Zoltan Barany, Ken Greene, John Higley, Charles King, and Harrison Wagner offered cogent suggestions that bettered the finished project. The deficiencies that remain are the results of my own limitations, and not theirs. I am grateful to the many organizations that funded my dissertation research and writing, and language acquisition. A Fulbright IIE grant funded ten months in Georgia. The Government Department at the University of Texas at Austin sponsored a summer of research in Russia with the MacDonald Summer Internship. My second summer in Russia was financed by the George Mitchell Co-op Research Award and a scholarship offered by the Austin Chapter of the American Association of University Women. My dissertation research and writing also benefited from two academic year fellowships: the William Livingstone University Continuing Fellowship, and the Foreign Language/Area Studies (FLAS) academic year scholarship, administered by the Center for Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies at UT. The latter scholarship also provided tuition for continued Russian language training. I also benefited from Georgian language training. The Social Science Research Council funded an intensive summer program at Bloomington University, and FLAS provided aid for a similar program at the Center for Kartvelian Studies at Tbilisi State University in Georgia. I appreciate the generosity of all these organizations and institutions, and am humbled by their investments in my work. v In Spring 2003, I participated in two symposia designed to improve graduate student projects. The SSRC Dissertation Workshop for Issues of Governance in Eurasia (2003) and the IREX Policy Symposium on Central Asia and the Caucasus (2003) provided mechanisms for me to meet junior and senior scholars who did similar work, as well as a forum to elicit advice from peers and future colleagues. In particular, I’d like to thank Cynthia Buckley, Peter Colton, Paula Garb, Edward Lazzarini, Gerard Liberadian, Neema Noori, Erik Scott, and Christoph Stefes for their insight. I presented sections of this project in several conferences and received valuable suggestions from Bruno Coppieters, Eka Metreveli, Eric McGlinchey, and Amanda Wooden. Jeremy Teigen read drafts of chapters and offered critical feedback. Throughout my time researching in the field, I enjoyed the hospitality for which Eurasia is famed. Public officials of regional governments in Russia and Georgia generously spent hours of their time discussing their experiences and goals. Within Georgia, central government officials on every level helped me a great deal, as did the members of previous governments. Their openness strengthened this project’s data collection, and I appreciate their willingness to share their views. Many people provided support for my work. In Georgia, Alex Rondeli and Timuri Yakobashvili of the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies opened their office to me for ten months. In Tbilisi, I am grateful to Ghia Nodia, Shota Utiashvili, Giorgi Tugushi, Giorgi Katcharava, Mark Mullen, Marc Behrendt, John Lewis, and Otar Babunashvili. Natella Akaba helped smooth my way in Abkhazia. Vladimir Gel’man, Dmitry Gorenburg, Leokadiya Drobezheva, and Alexei Titkov helped put me in touch with regional government leaders. In Tatarstan, I am grateful for the help of Gulnaz Sharafutdinova. In Bashkortostan, I am indebted to Ildar Gabdrafikov and Rushan vi Gallyamov. In both countries, I had superb assistants who helped on every level: Salome Tsereteli in Georgia, Rosa Hakim and Alsu Sharipova in Russia. I owe a debt to several professors along the way. Walter Clemens at Boston University gave me this idea and the necessary push. Dodona Kiziria introduced me to the complex but wonderful Georgian language. Elena Mikhailovna Lifshitz has been the best Russian language professor I have ever encountered. Many friends and colleagues gave me moral support and kept me sane during the research and writing process. Johanna Petersson, Tim Blauvelt, Thomas Legge, Merlijn de Smit, Angela Hawken, Elizabeth Eagan, Brooks Ballard, and Giorgi Gogia made my stay in Tbilisi seem way too short. Eka, Devi, Eke, and Levan Metreveli became my Georgian family in Tbilisi. In Russia, the families of Alsu Sharipova and Rosa Hakim welcomed me into their homes and fed me fabulous cuisine. At the University of Texas, I was lucky to find some of the most generous, supportive, and genuinely good people I have ever met in the form of my graduate student colleagues. Many thanks to Neal Allen, Brian Arbour, Dana Baker, Greg Brown, Brian Brox, Darin Foster, Allison Martens, Mark McKenzie, Bobby Parks, Natasha Sugiyama, Mike Unger, Musseref Yetim, and Don Zinman. I appreciate the camaraderie of the Russia crew: Oksan Bayulgen, Jenny Suchland, Chris Speckhard, Frank Thames, Patricia Ryan, and Mike Dennis. My greatest debt is to my family, which has been so supportive during this process. I met my husband, Jeremy Teigen, in graduate school in Austin, and he visited me during my months in Tbilisi, and accompanied me to Russia. He read my dissertation chapters even as he wrote his own. Throughout my academic career, my parents offered support, insight, and interest in my work. My father has been my advocate in everything I do. My mothers, both of whom earned doctorates, have been my role models throughout the past decades. vii Separatism or Federalism? Ethnic Conflict and Resolution in Russia and Georgia Publication No._____________ Julie Alynn George, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2005 Supervisor: Robert G. Moser Ethnic conflicts have accounted for most of the world’s wars in recent decades. My dissertation, based on research on ethno-federal regions in Russia and Georgia, analyzes the factors that cause some ethnic mobilization movements to become violent while others find negotiated settlements or never become politically conflictual. Contrary to recent ethnicity literature, which emphasizes the role of ethnic group wealth, intergroup political dynamics, and historical oppression, my findings indicate that although such factors are important, central-regional elite networks and state capacity are the crucial factors that affect violent or non-violent regional strategies. Elite networks open pathways for negotiation and patronage politics. Failed states enhance the likelihood for conflict: they not only provide incentives for ethnic mobilization by enterprising regional ethnic elites, but are often unable to offer credible negotiation deals to regional groups. viii Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xi List of Figures....................................................................................................... xii Introduction..............................................................................................................1 Outline of the project ......................................................................................5 Chapter 1................................................................................................................10 Ethnic Separatism: Assessing Major Theories in the Former Soviet Union 11 Chapter 2: An Explanation of Ethnic Separatism..................................................39 Introduction...................................................................................................39 Theoretical Framework.................................................................................40 Methods: Case selection, data collection, and measurement........................61 Conclusion ....................................................................................................68 Chapter 3: National Territorialization in the Soviet Union ...................................69 National territories and the Successor States................................................97 Conclusion: The Power and Limits of the Institutional Explanation............99 Chapter 4: Violent Secession from Russia and Georgia......................................101 Betraying Patrons and Punishing Upstarts: The Chechen Wars.................103 Georgia: South Ossetia and Abkhazia ........................................................132 South Ossetia: Autonomy denied, independence seized.............................132
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