Child Soldiers and Military Actors
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CHILD SOLDIERS AND MILITARY ACTORS: A VARIATION IN DETENTION POLICIES ACROSS LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES by Iuliia Hoban A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-Newark Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Global Affairs written under the direction of Dr. Simon Reich and approved by _______________________________________________ Dr. Simon Reich _______________________________________________ Dr. Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia _______________________________________________ Dr. Gregg Van Ryzin _______________________________________________ Dr. David Rosen Newark, New Jersey May 2018 © 2018 Iuliia Hoban ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Child Soldiers and Military Actors: A Variation in Detention Policies across Liberal Democracies By: IULIIA HOBAN Dissertation Chair: Dr. Simon Reich The professional militaries of Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom have increasingly recognized that children can become part of opposing forces and face the operational and policy decisions regarding their detention. These Anglo-Saxon, consolidated, liberal democracies demonstrate a high level of similarity, in terms of their shared norms and values, and common security practices. Nonetheless, these three countries have developed distinct policies on the detention of child soldiers. This dissertation addressed the question: what explains the cross-national variation in the development of policies on the detention of child soldiers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States? In order to answer this research question, I proposed a series of hypotheses to examine the role of three strategic actors in the policy process: military lawyers, government officials, and representatives from non-governmental organizations. I analyzed data that required both quantitative and qualitative methods to test these hypotheses. Specifically, qualitatively, I performed a content analysis of a total of 69 semi- structured interviews; and, quantitatively, I used NVivo 11 coding query tools to generate numerical data to present aggregate results. These methods allowed for comparing the roles ii of these three actors in each national context. I utilized the comparative case study method to identify causal patterns across these three countries to offer a second test of these hypotheses. My dissertation suggested an explanatory relationship between NGOs’ choice of strategies and the policy outcomes in each of these three countries. First, the NGOs’ choice between different types of framing and how to engage in framing contests, during the agenda-setting stage, had far-reaching implications for the policy-making process. It defined the key terms and demarcated boundaries of the issue in a policy domain that abounds with contested elements. Second, the selection of strategies and decision-making venues simultaneously influenced the NGOs’ ability to shape policy outcomes during the policy formulation stage. Third, the application of the strategy of ‘naming and shaming’ during the policy implementation stage remained effective only if the NGOs applied it in combination with other policy instruments, such as the use of domestic litigation. This dissertation hopes to make an empirical contribution to the debate on how policy actors engage and shape outcomes in contested policy domains, which require balancing national security and human rights agendas. iii Acknowledgments The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the help of the mentors, friends, and family who supported me through this process. I am thankful to my committee members Professors Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia, Gregg Van Ryzin, and David Rosen for their advice in security studies, research methodology, and expertise in the field of children and armed conflict, which both shaped this work and my scholarly interests. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to them for giving their expertise and for serving on my committee. Most of all, I am profoundly thankful to my committee Chair Professor Simon Reich for always encouraging me to take an extra step in social science inquiries. Dr. Reich’s influence on this project goes back before he graciously agreed to supervise my work. I read Child Soldiers in the Age of Fractured States, of which he acted as an editor, during my studies in the master’s program, which greatly shaped my interest in pursuing a doctorate. Through the last five years, he patiently mentored me on how to recognize the crucial from the trivial and how to develop research questions in the process of scholarly analysis. Dr. Reich always encouraged me and supported me through this project. I did not always make his job as the chair easy, and I owe him for that. I am grateful for Dr. Reich’s detailed and insightful (multiple) revisions of every chapter of this dissertation. This study transformed profoundly as a result of his patience in refining my ideas. I could not have asked for a better advisor and mentor. My thanks also go to the representatives of the military, government departments, and non-governmental organizations across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who gave their time to discuss the issues explored in this study. I would particularly iv like to thank Penelope Nelson, Professor Mark Drumbl, Dragica Mikavica, and Lt.Col. Jon Jackson, in the United States, who provided their extensive assistance, advice, and support through this project. In Canada, I am grateful to Professor Joseph Rikhof for his help in navigating through the maze of the Canadian policy-making process. I also would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Charles Garraway who provided his invaluable advice and assistance on my research in the United Kingdom. I would additionally like to thank the entire staff and faculty of the Division of Global Affairs who greatly assisted my research. Finally, this work would not have been possible without the steadfast love, unwavering support, and encouragement of my friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic. I would like to thank my friends Kristina Hook, Julia Khrebtan-Hoerhager, Alex Santana, Meghan DeTommaso, Sergei Gorbunov, Oleksandra and Daria Gaidai. I am indebted to my parents, Viktoriia and Anatolii, my grandmother, Zhanna, and my in-laws Joanne, Kevin, Rachel, and Robert for always supporting me during this scholarly journey. I am immensely thankful to my loving husband Ian, who supported me through every day of my research and writing. I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful and caring family who stood by me during this research process. v Table of Contents CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 Observation .....................................................................................................................1 Variation in the Policy across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom . 5 Puzzle .............................................................................................................................15 Culture and Values: The Role of Rule of Law in Liberal Democracies .................... 15 Shared Institutional Practices ................................................................................... 18 International Laws and National Policies Concerning Child Soldiers ..................... 24 Research Question ........................................................................................................28 Dissertation Outline .....................................................................................................30 CHAPTER II. SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................... 32 The Research Program on Child Soldiers ..................................................................33 The Strategic Action of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Policy Process .42 The Role of Military Lawyers in the Policy-Making Process ...................................51 CHAPTER III. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS ................................................. 59 Alternative Explanation I. The Role of Government Officials ................................61 Alternative Explanation II. The Role of Military Lawyers ......................................68 Alternative Explanation III. The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations ........74 Research Design and Methodology .............................................................................84 Chapter IV. Data Analysis ............................................................................................. 87 Data and Sampling .......................................................................................................87 Coding ...........................................................................................................................95 Data Findings and Analysis .......................................................................................100 The Policy Process in the United States .................................................................. 100 The Policy Process in Canada................................................................................. 109 The Policy Process in the United Kingdom ............................................................. 116 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................122 CHAPTER V. THE CHILD SOLDIERS’ DETENTION