LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE MOBILISING FOR GROUP-SPECIFIC NORMS: RESHAPING THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION REGIME FOR MINORITIES CORINNE LENNOX A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY LONDON, JULY 2009 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 This thesis is dedicated to the memory of: Atsuko Tanaka-Fox whose hard work and dedication made a lasting impact on the protection of minority rights globally and to Murray Osborne and Lee Sinclair-Osborne who are also dearly missed. 3 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the agency of minority groups and their international allies in reshaping the international protection regime for national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities to include new group-specific norms. The practices of ―norm entrepreneurship‖ by two groups, Dalits and Afro-descendants, are considered in detail and contrasted with the experiences of similar norm entrepreneurship by indigenous peoples and Roma. Dalit and Afro-descendant activists have pursued norm emergence to establish group-specific recognition, standards and mechanisms at the international level. This thesis examines three key factors that have been instrumental to this group- specific norm emergence: the establishment of strategic frames and stronger forms of transnational mobilisation by each group; the supportive engagement of international actors; and the emergence of new political opportunity structures at the international level, in particular the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR). The findings of the thesis provide insight into macro-level changes to international minority protection. By concentrating on the agency of minority groups, the thesis adds to the largely state-centred literature on minority protection. By critically assessing the role of international actors in aiding this norm entrepreneurship, the thesis helps to uncover their limitations, interests and ideational commitments. The findings contribute to norm entrepreneurship studies by considering a unique kind of transnational non-state actor, one that possesses the latent capacity for statehood. The capacity of weak non- state actors to achieve norm emergence even without state support is demonstrated but the deep challenges they face in securing group-specific norms are exposed. On a normative level, the findings give a glimpse of how emerging norms for transnational minority groups could alter conventions of representation in international society, creating post-Westphalian forms of political community. On a policy level, the findings provide some useful inputs on how to strengthen these new forms of political community and how to enable adherence to emerging group-specific norms. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the UK Economic and Social Research Council for funding a 1+3 PhD Studentship that enabled me to undertake this thesis. I am also grateful for additional funds provided by the London School of Economics and Political Science. I thank my supervisor, Dr. Jennifer Jackson-Preece, and interim supervisor, Professor Kimberly Hutchings, for their support and guidance throughout this endeavour. This thesis would be much poorer indeed if not for the insights gained in several interviews conducted over the course of the project. I therefore would like to thank all of the very busy interviewees for their generosity of time and information. I would particularly like to thank those who kindly also reviewed draft sections of this thesis: Carlos Minott, Leonardo Reales, Ilona Klímová-Alexander, Meena Varma, Judith Morrison, Umakant, Paul Divakar, Samia Slimane, Julian Burger, Ariel Dulitzsky and Rikke Nöhrlind all deserve special thanks in this regard. I have had tremendous support from other people over the course of this odyssey. I would particularly like to acknowledge Anna-Mária Bíro, for being a comrade-in-arms, Anneliese Baldaccini, for being my rock, Kevin Boyle, for his mentorship, the folks at MRG (past and present), and Sjaak Van Der Bent, for making me laugh and cups of tea. To my family and all my other friends, your support and encouragement has carried me through. Thank you. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... 6 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 11 LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF DALITS AND AFRO-DESCENDANTS: METHODS AND THESIS STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................................................ 17 NORM ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY NON-STATE ACTORS: KEY CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES .......................... 19 Framing: ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Political opportunity structures: ....................................................................................................... 21 Organisational platforms: ................................................................................................................ 22 Processes of norm emergence: ......................................................................................................... 24 NORM ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY MINORITIES: (RE)-CONSTRUCTING THE INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION REGIME FOR MINORITIES ........................................................................................................................ 28 Specific challenges to norm entrepreneurship by minorities: ........................................................... 29 Accepting norms for the protection of minorities: rational and ideational motivations ................... 31 Who is a „minority‟? Strategic framing of minority identities ......................................................... 39 Transnational social mobilisation by minorities: ............................................................................. 42 Using political opportunity structures: the supporting role of international organisations ............. 49 DURBAN OR BUST: THE 2001 WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM .................................................. 53 NORM ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND ROMA: A MODEL FOR OTHER MINORITIES? .. 63 Indigenous peoples: leading the way for group-specific norms ....................................................... 63 Roma: A European minority? ........................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER II: DALITS AND NORM ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION ................................................................................................................................ 98 INTRODUCTION: ..................................................................................................................................... 98 CASTE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY: ...................................................................................................... 99 DALIT MOBILISATION: FROM DOMESTIC RESISTANCE TO TRANSNATIONAL ADVOCACY ........................ 103 Precursors to the modern Dalit movement ..................................................................................... 104 The contemporary Dalit movement: ............................................................................................... 109 BRINGING ‗CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION‘ TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE: .................................... 118 Formulating a normative agenda on caste: .................................................................................... 123 DALITS AT THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM: ―CAST OUT CASTE!‖: ................................... 128 Post-Durban mobilisation: creating political opportunities for socialisation and persuasion ...... 135 EMBEDDING CLAIMS ON ‗CASTE‘: THE ROLE OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS.............................. 138 The UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights: naming caste-based discrimination ......................... 138 The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: bringing caste into ICERD ............ 144 The UN Special Rapporteur on racism:.......................................................................................... 151 Assessing the impact of UN institutional allies: ............................................................................. 152 CONSTRUCTING