Wright State University CORE Scholar Browse all Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2013 Political Party Transitions in Post-Conflict States: How oliticalP Parties Reacted and Adapted During Democratic Transitions in Cambodia, El Salvador and Mozambique Rachel L. Miller Wright State University Follow this and additional works at: https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all Part of the International Relations Commons Repository Citation Miller, Rachel L., "Political Party Transitions in Post-Conflict States: How oliticalP Parties Reacted and Adapted During Democratic Transitions in Cambodia, El Salvador and Mozambique" (2013). Browse all Theses and Dissertations. 674. https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/etd_all/674 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at CORE Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Browse all Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CORE Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POLITICAL PARTY TRANSITIONS IN POST-CONFLICT STATES: HOW POLITICAL PARTIES REACTED AND ADAPTED DURING DEMOCRATIC TRANSITIONS IN CAMBODIA, EL SALVADOR AND MOZAMBIQUE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By RACHEL L. MILLER History B.A., Xavier University, 2006 2012 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL December 12, 2012 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Rachel L. Miller ENTITLED Political Party Transitions in Post-Conflict States: How Political Parties Reacted and Adapted During Democratic Transitions in Cambodia, El Salvador and Mozambique BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts. ______________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Thesis Director ______________________________ Laura M. Luehrmann, Ph.D. Director, Master of Arts Program in International and Comparative Politics Committee on Final Examination: ___________________________________ December Green, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Laura M. Luehrmann, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Pramod Kantha, Ph.D. Department of Political Science ___________________________________ Andrew T. Hsu, Ph.D. Dean, Graduate School ABSTRACT Miller, Rachel L. M.A., Department of Political Science, Wright State University, 2012. “Political Party Transitions in Post-Conflict States: How Political Parties Reacted and Adapted During Democratic Transitions in Cambodia, El Salvador and Mozambique.” This study argues that political parties in the post-conflict period are adaptable to and capable of changing roles as states transition to peacetime settings. In the aftermath of war in El Salvador, Cambodia and Mozambique and during a democratic transition, changes in political party structures and attitudes, and the influence of external actors emerged as significant factors in the way political parties adapted. National and international political contexts, ideological differences and war time political party origins played a part in incumbent and insurgent political parties’ behaviors and electoral successes in the aftermath of war, which has ultimately affected the democratic transition, in some cases undermining. This study demonstrates the nuance of democratic transition, how each individual case is unique and the importance of internal actors during the transition period and after. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………v LIST OF ACRONYMS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….vii I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Political Party Definitions……………………………………………………………………………………………..3 II. LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................................6 The Desire to Democratize……………………………………………………………………………………………6 Changes in Party Structure and Attitude………………………………………………………………………10 Influence of External Actors…………………………………………………………………………………………13 III. THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION……………………………………………………………………………………17 Overview of Conflicts, Peace Processes, and Political Liberalization…………………………….18 Free and Fair Elections………………………………………………………………………………………………….29 Party Performance in Elections……………………………………………………………………………………..32 Elections and Democratic Theory………………………………………………………………………………….40 Public Support for Democracy……………………………………………………………………………………….42 Democratic Transitions and Party Changes……………………………………………………………………48 IV. PARTY STRUCTURAL AND ATTITUDE CHANGES…………………………………………………………..49 Demobilization………………………………………………………………………………………………………………51 Development of Party Organization and Democratization of Decision-Making…………….60 Adaptation of Strategies and Goals……………………………………………………………………………….69 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….71 V. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………………………………..74 Successes and Failures in the Transition………………………………………………………………………..75 Successes and Failures in Consolidation…………………………………………………………………………90 Impact of This Study and What it Means Going Forward……………………………………………….92 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..95 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 3.1: Mozambican Presidential and Parliamentary Election Results, 1994-2009………………………34 Table 3.2: Salvadoran Parliamentary Election Results, 1994-2009……………………………………………………35 Table 3.3: Salvadoran Presidential Election Results, 1994-2009……………………………………………………….36 Table 3.4: National Assembly Seats (Lower House) in Cambodia, 1993-2008……………………………………40 Table 3.5: Mozambican Public Opinion on Civil Liberties………………………………………………………………….42 Table 5.6: A Comparison of Gross Domestic Product, Gross Domestic Product Per Capita and the Human Development Index…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..80 Table 5.7: Freedom House Rankings: Cambodia………………………………………………………………………………..82 Table 5.8: Freedom House Rankings: El Salvador……………………………………………………………………………….82 Table 5.9: Freedom House Rankings: Mozambique…………………………………………………………………………..82 v ACRONYMS ARENA—National Republican Alliance CPK—Cambodia’s Communist Party CPP—Cambodian Peoples’ Party DK—Democratic Kampuchea FMLN—Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front FRELIMO—The Liberation Front of Mozambique FUNCINPEC—National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia GPA—General Peace Agreement ONUMOZ—United Nations Operation in Mozambique ONUSAL—United Nations Obeserver Mission in El Salvador PPA—Paris Peace Agreement PRK—People’s Republic of Kampuchea RENAMO—Mozambican National Resistance SRP—Sam Rainsy Party UNTAC—United Nations Transnational Authority on Cambodia vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been completed without the guidance and insight of my committee chair Dr. December Green. Thank you, Dr. Green, for your instrumental direction and help with this thesis. Thank you also to Dr. Laura Luehrmann and Dr. Pramod Kantha for your insights and assistance as members of my thesis committee. To my fiancé Matt, thank you for always having faith in me and giving me a push when I needed it. You were always motivating me to work harder and I appreciate the many hours you spent with me at Panera while I wrote away weekend mornings. Thank you also to my family for their continued support while I worked on this thesis. Mom, Dad, and Hannah your constant love and support as I went through this process were a true motivational force. vii Chapter I: Introduction The end of civil conflict ushers in a period that is often unstable and always uncertain. During the time following the conflict, the function of previously warring parties and their changing role in a peacetime government is crucial to developing the new political landscape. The parties must restructure themselves, adapt to a new political landscape, and promote themselves to earn mass appeal without the aid of arms. The difficulty in the task of establishing a functioning and legitimate peacetime party is evident in the lack of success most parties emerging from conflict have in accomplishing this undertaking. Political parties in the countries of El Salvador, Mozambique, and Cambodia are familiar with this process. All three of these countries have emerged from long periods of civil conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the warring parties in each have had to adapt to the peacetime political landscape. The National Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) and the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo) in Mozambique, and the Cambodian Peoples’ Party (CPP) and National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) of Cambodia are all parties that have emerged from their respective civil conflicts; and, perhaps surprisingly, have remained important members of the political landscape afterwards. This thesis is a case study of the above mentioned political parties in El Salvador, Mozambique, and Cambodia during the timeframe of their transitions from countries dealing with civil conflicts through the resolution. This study’s timeframe also includes the aftermath of the respective conflicts. The purpose of the study