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'Form but Not the Function?' Dilemmas of European Human Rights and Democracy Promotion in Russia

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'Form but Not the Function?' Dilemmas of European Human Rights and Democracy Promotion in Russia ’Form But Not the Function?’ Dilemmas of European Human Rights and Democracy Promotion in Russia A thesis submitted for a degree of Doctor of Philosophy SAARI, Sinikukka Maria Department of International Relations The London School of Economics and Political Science University of London 2007 1 UMI Number: U228702 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U228702 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ( 0 ' u C a ji i Abstract The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Union (EU) are all outspoken about their goal to see Russia developing into a democratic state that respects human rights. This thesis explores cooperation on human rights and democratisation between these organisations and Russia: how the organisations promote European norms in Russia, how the cooperation has developed over the years, and what kind of impact the interaction has had - first of all, on Russia but secondarily also on European norms and on European organisations - and why. These questions are examined through three empirical case studies on different sets of norms that the OSCE, CoE and the EU actively promote in Russia: the institution of a human rights ombudsman, the abolition of the death penalty and free and fair elections. European documents clearly define these norms, and Russia has explicitly declared its commitment to implement them. The thesis advances both the theoretical discussion on the interplay between international cooperation and domestic change, and our practical knowledge on how the policies of these organisations have influenced developments in Russia. As regards theory, the thesis argues that the theoretical democratisation and socialisation models reflect the universalistic optimism of the post-Cold War era. Developments in Russia do not support this optimism. Basing analysis on the three empirical cases, it is suggested that instead of viewing socialisation as a one-way transference of norms, greater attention should be accorded to the interaction that takes place between the actors, and that the clear-cut stages of development inherent in the socialisation and democratisation models do not always grasp the essence of the change and may, in fact, restrict our analysis. Policy-wise, it is argued that the European human rights and democratisation strategies towards Russia have by and large failed because they are based on similarly over- optimistic expectations, typical of the Zeitgeist of the post-Cold War years. The thesis warns that if an exception is granted to Russia with regard to once-agreed norms, the 2 normative base for European cooperation will be weakened. In the long run, this could have a negative impact on the legitimacy of the European organisations. 3 Declaration I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own and has not been submitted before for any degree at this or any other university. Sinikukka Saari Helsinki, 25 January 2007 Acknowledgements This thesis sprung from a desire to understand why the expectations at the end of the Cold War about the "new world order" never quite materialised. Many of my original hunches and ideas ended up in a rubbish bin, but some of them developed into more specific ones, which are studied in this thesis. This initial desire still looms identifiably in the background. This thesis would have not seen the daylight without many important institutions and people to whom I owe a great deal. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Helsingin Sanomat Centenary Foundation and for the Academy of Finland and its Russia in Flux programme for their generous financial support. The Helsingin Sanomat Centenary Foundation funded the first two years of my studies in London, and the Academy of Finland the latter two. I would also like to thank the Department of International Relations at LSE for its contributions towards field trips and conference participation. In general, I owe much to the intellectual and enthusiastic atmosphere of the department, its staff members and my peers. In particular, I am indebted to my hard-working supervisor Karen Smith. Her critical comments were always helpful - although I sometimes only realised their true value much later. I am also indebted to the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. My thanks go to its director Tapani Vaahtoranta and the rest of the staff at the institute. In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to the people involved in the "Russia’s European Choice?" programme at the institute and abroad. The helpful comments and insights of Christer Pursiainen, Arkady Moshes, Hiski Haukkala, Vadim Kononenko, Katri Pynnoniemi and Pami Aalto have guided me at all stages of the process. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family members and friends for their invaluable support along the way. In particular, I would like to thank my 5 mother Maijatta for her encouragement and empathy, and my partner Santeri who has given me so many things to look forward beyond this thesis. Sinikukka Saari Helsinki, 25 January 2007 6 ABSTRACT 2 DECLARATION............................................................................................................ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................... 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................12 CHAPTER 1..................................................................................................................14 THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROMOTION...............................................................................................................14 1 Modelling Domestic Social Change.........................................................................14 Democratisation......................................................................................................17 Debates around democratisation ........................................................................ 21 Socialisation........................................................................................................... 22 Risse-Sikkink model of socialisation................................................................. 25 Debates around socialisation.............................................................................. 27 2 Thesis Outline ......................................................................................................... 30 Goals of the thesis.................................................................................................. 30 Timeframe and focus .............................................................................................. 31 Source material....................................................................................................... 32 The case selection.................................................................................................. 34 Norm-specific scope conditions.....................................................................-....36 Further scope conditions for socialisation.......................................................... 38 Central issues and concepts .................................................................................... 39 International norms............................................................................................ 40 Human rights ...................................................................................................... 41 International cooperation and its effectiveness and impact............................... 42 International human rights policies.................................................................... 45 Chapter outline....................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................. 49 HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC NORMS IN THE RHETORIC AND POLICIES OF THE SOVIET UNION AND RUSSIA..............................................49 1 Socialism and Human Rights .................................................................................. 49 Non-intervention versus human rights....................................................................52 2 Human Rights Enter the East-West Agenda ............................................................53 The Helsinki Process kicks off............................................................................... 55 Empowering transnational actors........................................................................... 58 Empowering Soviet dissidents................................................................................59 The grip tightens...................................................................................................
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