ABSTRACT Title of Document: the DEVELOPMENT of the RUSSIAN COUNTER-TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT: the ANGEL COALITION and INTERNATIONAL P
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN COUNTER-TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT: THE ANGEL COALITION AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS ON CIVIL SOCIETY, FEMINISM, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Denise Shupiko, Ph.D., 2014 Directed By: Professor Claire G. Moses Department of Women’s Studies In recent decades, transnational advocacy networks (TANs) for women’s rights have become major players in the international arena, but have also struggled to maintain egalitarian and democratic practices within their ranks, as members from different world regions attempt to have their voices heard. In this dissertation, I question what strategies TANs can employ to more effectively and democratically push states for change on important social issues. To address this question, I carry out a case study of the development of the Russian movement against human trafficking from 1998 to 2008, with particular focus on the organization that served as leader of this movement, the Angel Coalition. To better understand the global forces that gave rise to this development, I examine two transnational movements that collided in Russia in the late 1990s: the contemporary transnational movement against human trafficking, and the movement by the United States and other Western governments to promote the growth of civil societies in developing and post-socialist countries as part of democracy aid programs. This dissertation contributes to transnational civil society theory and transnational feminist theory. The Angel Coalition, an organization run by activists from Russia, other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Western countries, and which received the majority of its funding from Western governments and foundations, overcame obstacles both to organizing across cultural and power differences and to influencing policy of the Russian Federation, a state known to reject the influence of foreign governments and foreign-funded civil society. I argue that two factors were especially important to the success of the Angel Coalition, as part of a transnational counter-trafficking network, in pushing the Russian state to take action against human trafficking: 1) counter-trafficking activists demonstrated a practiced understanding of the political environment of Russia; and 2) activists effectively communicated to the state how it would benefit from collaboration with civil society. Finally, I argue that organizational practices of the Angel Coalition, as a multinational NGO, facilitated its ability to implement these strategies. Most importantly, activists utilized their differences as resources and expressed respect for the unique contributions of all members of the coalition. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN COUNTER-TRAFFICKING MOVEMENT: THE ANGEL COALITION AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS ON CIVIL SOCIETY, FEMINISM, AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING By Denise Shupiko Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Advisory Committee: Professor Claire G. Moses, Chair Professor Linda Aldoory Professor Augusta Lynn Bolles Professor Seung-kyung Kim Professor Cynthia L. Martin © Copyright by Denise Shupiko 2014 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I owe a great deal of gratitude to the MiraMed and Angel Coalition activists, whose commitment to drawing upon international and Russian governmental resources to fight human trafficking inspired the topic of this dissertation. I especially thank those activists who devoted time to working and talking with me, as I learned about the activities, achievements, and challenges of your organization. Your dedication to overcoming constant obstacles to reach your goals and help individuals in need motivated me as I worked to complete this dissertation. Second, I would like to thank the University of Maryland Graduate School and Department of Women’s Studies for their generous support during towards the writing-up phase of my dissertation. The Anne G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship that I received from the Graduate School in Spring 2010, and the Summer Dissertation Award that I received from the Department of Women’s Studies in Summer 2012 granted me valuable periods of time in which I could focus on the writing process, and the completion of my dissertation would not have been possible without them. In addition, I would like to express gratitude to the faculty and staff members of the Department of Women’s Studies, who have given me much encouragement and support over the years as I worked to complete my Ph.D. degree. I thank Cliffornia Royals Pryor, Annie Carter, and Laura Nichols for their unending administrative support during these years. I thank all the faculty members who have generously shared their time with me and whose courses first sparked the ideas out of which this dissertation would take shape. I am extremely grateful for the wisdom and ii experience you have shared, and I admire the work you do to advance the field of women’s studies. I express special thanks to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Claire Moses, Dr. Seung-kyung Kim, Dr. Lynn Bolles, Dr. Linda Aloory, and Dr. Cynthia Martin. Your patience and support throughout the processes of conceiving, researching, and writing up my dissertation project enabled me to complete this work. Most especially, I thank my dissertation advisor Dr. Claire Moses, who has gone beyond the call of duty numerous times to help me finish this project. The words of encouragement and advice that you offered helped me get over many bumps in the road, and your careful reading and editing of this dissertation made it a much better document. I would not have gotten this far without you and I express my endless thanks for your support. In addition, I express special thanks to Dr. Seung-kyung Kim, whom I have worked closely with over the past two years in the Center for East Asian Studies. I have been inspired by the enthusiasm through which you approach your work and the high level of quality to which you hold the many projects that you take on. You serve as a role model for me in many ways as I embark on the next phase of my career. Finally, I reserve my most special thanks for Anton, who has traveled the journey of this dissertation with me. Your joy reminds me of what is most important, and I dedicate this dissertation to you. This work would not have been possible without the contributions of numerous individuals; however, any errors found in this final document are my own. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………. ii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………….iv List of Abbreviations………………………………………………………………..vii Language Note……………………………………………………………….………ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Theoretical Perspective and Research Methodology……………………………7 1.1.1 Theoretical Perspective…………………………………………………….7 1.1.2 Research Methodology…………………………………………………...15 1.2 Research Questions and Chapter Outline……………………………………...21 Chapter 2: The Concept of “Civil Society” and the Push by Western Governments to Promote Civil Society Growth in Developing and Post-Socialist Countries……...…27 2.1 Understanding the Concept of “Civil Society”………………………………...30 2.1.1 History of the Concept of “Civil Society” in Western Thought………….30 2.1.2 Liberal and Statist Models of Civil Society: Which Model is Best for Russia?……………………………………………………………………......38 2.1.3 Outlining a Definition of “Civil Society”………………………………...53 2.2 Democratization Programs and the Push for Civil Society……………………57 2.2.1 History of U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs……………………………58 2.2.2 Democracy and Neoliberalism…………………………….……………...66 2.2.3 Achievements and Limitations of Civil Society Assistance Programs…...74 2.3 Summing Up: The Impact of Civil Society and Democracy Aid Programs…...82 Chapter 3: The Development of Russian Civil Society, 1991-2008…………………87 3.1 Russia’s Post-Soviet Transition: Economic, Political, and Social Reforms and the Emergence of Post-Soviet Civil Society (1991-2000)……………………….88 3.1.1 The Reorganization of Russia’s Political, Economic, and Social Spheres during the Post-Soviet Transition Period and the Role of Civil Society..........89 3.1.2 The Impact of Western Aid on the Transition Process and the Development of Russian-Western Relationships around Economic Aid……………………95 3.1.3 The Emergence of Post-Soviet Civil Society in Russia…………………101 3.2 Foreign Aid Programs to Develop Post-Soviet Civil Society in Russia……...106 3.2.1 Overview of Civil Society Aid Providers and Programs………………..106 3.2.2 Outcomes of Foreign-Funded Civil Society Assistance Programs……...119 3.3 State-Civil Society Relations in Post-Soviet Russia………………………….133 3.3.1 State-Civil Society Relations during the Yeltsin Era……………………134 3.3.2 State-Civil Society Relations during the Putin Era……………………...138 3.3.3 Overarching Themes Characterizing Civil Society-State Relations in the Yeltsin and Putin Eras………………………………………………………..168 3.4 Summing Up: Statist and Liberal Influences in the Development of Russian Civil Society…………………………………………………………………….176 iv Chapter 4: The Development of the Russian Women’s Movement, 1991-2008…...180 4.1 History of Russian Women’s Movements prior to 1991……………………..181 4.2 History of Russian Women’s Movements post-1991………………………...195 4.2.1 Effects of the Post-Soviet Transition on Women……………………….195 4.2.2 The Emergence of the Post-Soviet Russian Women’s Movement……...201