Processes of Institutionalization and Practices of Contestation in Post-Socialist Civil Society Building, 1989–2006
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From Revolution to Referendum: Processes of Institutionalization and Practices of Contestation in Post-Socialist Civil Society Building, 1989–2006 Bojan Baća A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Graduate Program in Sociology York University Toronto, Ontario October 2018 © Bojan Baća, 2018 Abstract At the intersection of civil society studies and contentious politics research lies an opportunity to better understand the development of civil society through contentious practices. Drawing on a diverse body of work in sociology, as well as these two interdisciplinary fields, I use contentious practices as the unit of analysis to examine how post-socialist civil society in Montenegro was built “from below” during its post-socialist transition from 1989 to 2006. I focus on how three processes of institutionalization that characterized this period – democratization of the polity, privatization of the economy, and NGO-ization of civil society – affected practices of contestation, and how such practices impinged on these processes. By using Protest Event Analysis to investigate how top-down (formal) processes of institutionalization and bottom-up (informal) practices of contestation interacted in civil society building in Montenegro, I achieve two objectives: firstly, illuminating the empirical reality of the post-socialist space of Montenegro through analysis of actually existing forms of contentious practices through which citizens articulated their grievances, voiced their demands, advanced their claims, and (re-)affirmed their identities; and secondly, analyzing how and to what extent forms, dynamics, sites, scales, and content of contentious practices were affected by elite-driven (formal) macro-processes and, conversely, how these processes were influenced by citizens through civil resistance, social activism, popular politics, and other forms of unconventional participation. Much of the existing literature points to the role of static structures in causing a socially passive, politically apathetic, and civically disengaged post-socialist civil society in Montenegro. In contrast, my findings demonstrate how both the decrease and depoliticization of contentious practices were consequences of dynamic (macro-)processual factors. Furthermore, my findings challenge very idea of Montenegro as a paradigmatic example of the “weak post-socialist civil society” at the European semi-periphery that needed to “catch up” to its Western neighbours. Instead, this dissertation argues that Montenegrin post-socialist civil society was not weak and that it significantly influenced the democratization processes in the country. ii Dedication For my grandparents, Sadeta and Pavle iii Acknowledgements First, I must give my largest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Fuyuki Kurasawa. His rigour, support, and mentorship have helped to shape both this dissertation and the scholar that I have become. I am also immensely grateful to the other two members of my supervisory committee, Prof. Lesley Wood and Prof. Brian Singer, for their guidance and valuable feedback as I assembled each chapter. Working with such a generous committee has been a great pleasure. My fellow graduate students – you know who you are! – have been my strongest support during this endeavour that began in 2011. I thank them all for the richness and fun that they brought to my life. I wish to give thanks to Audrey Tokiwa, without whose assistance and kindness – whether I was in Canada, Montenegro, or Sweden – I could never have finished this project. Thank you for saving my life one too many times in the labyrinth of university forms and procedures. With the generous support of the Swedish Institute, I had the pleasure to spend an academic year at the University of Gothenburg, where I worked with Prof. Kerstin Jacobsson, whose expertise in post- socialist civil society and social movement research and collegial guidance have sharpened my empirical focus and theoretical argument. And, finally, I am indebted to my professors at York University for sociological knowledge and academic skills. In Montenegro, I want to thank all my friends and colleagues – again, you know who you are! – for believing in me and my project throughout this journey and providing endless support, thus contributing indirectly but immensely to this end result. And finally, my family has been my emotional rock through all this. Thank you for all your love and support! The inadequacies, omissions, and mistakes of the current work remain, of course, my own. iv Table of Contents Abstract .................................................. ii Dedication .................................................. iii Acknowledgments .................................................. iv Table of Contents .................................................. v List of Tables .................................................. vii List of Figures .................................................. viii Introduction Why Study Montenegro? .................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................. 1 What We (Don’t) Know About Civil Society and Contentious Politics in Montenegro? .................................................. 3 Understanding Post-Socialist Development as a Dynamic and Relational Process .................................................. 14 Methodological Design: Identifying and Mapping Contentious Practices in a Post-Socialist Setting .................................................. 15 Theoretical Framing: Periodizing Post-Socialist Development through the Dynamics of Contention Model .................................................. 22 Periodizing Montenegro’s Post-Socialist Development .................................................. 27 Stalled Transition (1989–1997) .................................................. 28 Genuine Transition (1989–2006) .................................................. 32 Conclusion .................................................. 38 Structure of the Dissertation .................................................. 44 Chapter I Towards a Practice-Oriented Approach to Post-Socialist Civil Society Building .................................................. 46 Introduction .................................................. 46 Understanding Post-Socialist Civil Society: Surplus of Reaction, Deficit of Reflection .................................................. 51 Thesis I: Weak Civil Society .................................................. 56 Thesis II: Strong Civil Sector .................................................. 63 Conclusion .................................................. 69 Rediscovering Contentious Politics in CEE: From Research on Post-Socialist Social Movements to Post-Socialist Social Movement Research .................................................. 70 Towards a New Conceptual Framework: Studying Contentious Practices .................................................. 78 Conclusion .................................................. 84 Chapter II 1989–1990: The Post-Revolutionary Vacuum .................................................. 86 Introduction .................................................. 86 Contentious Practices, 1989–1990 .................................................. 89 Contentious Practices as a Disruption .................................................. 89 Strikes .................................................. 89 Boycotts .................................................. 94 Contentious Practices as a Protest .................................................. 95 Written Protests .................................................. 95 Staged Protests .................................................. 98 Conclusion .................................................. 101 v Chapter III 1991–1997: The Authoritarian Turn .................................................. 104 Introduction .................................................. 104 Contentious Practices, 1991–1997 .................................................. 106 Contentious Practices as a Disruption .................................................. 108 Strikes .................................................. 108 Boycotts .................................................. 113 Blockades .................................................. 114 Contentious Practices as a Protest .................................................. 116 Written Protests .................................................. 116 Staged Protests .................................................. 121 Conclusion .................................................. 124 Chapter IV 1998–2000: A Divided Polity .................................................. 127 Introduction .................................................. 127 Contentious Practices, 1998–2000 .................................................. 130 Contentious Practices as a Disruption .................................................. 131 Strikes .................................................. 132 Boycotts .................................................. 136 Blockades .................................................. 136 Contentious Practices as a Protest .................................................. 138 Written Protests .................................................. 138 Staged Protests .................................................. 141 Conclusion .................................................