THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOCIALIST VENEZUELA: THE CASE OF US DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE, VENEZUELAN NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION LAW by TIMOTHY MICHAEL GILL (Under the Direction of David Smilde) ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, the US has provided material and technical support, or democracy assistance, to political parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the world. Two theoretical perspectives have governed analysis of this phenomenon, including a neo- Tocquevillian and a neo-Marxist perspective. These two perspectives, however, contain several theoretical blindspots that require rectification. To provide a more robust theory of US democracy assistance efforts, I have selected Venezuela as a case study. As a result of previous theoretical shortcomings, I have developed a neo-Weberian perspective. Similar to the neo- Tocquevillian perspective, this perspective recognizes that the US mainly promotes US-style liberal democratic policies in the countries that it operates, and, similar to both perspectives, this perspective recognizes that US democracy assistance primarily flows to the Venezuelan opposition. Unlike the neo-Tocquevillian perspective, this perspective recognizes that the US has provided assistance to actors that have not always pursued democratic measures, and it recognizes that a multiplicity of legitimate forms of democratic politics exist, including the radical and participatory politics that the Venezuelan government has promoted. Unlike the neo- Marxist perspective, this perspective can make sense of the select instances in which the US has funded actors that have worked with and commended the Venezuelan government. Most importantly, this perspective asserts the centrality of US officials’ ideological motivations, and shows how these officials understand the Venezuelan government in colonialist and racist terms. This perspective asserts that these understandings of the Venezuelan government serve as the basis and justification for US democracy assistance endeavors in the country. Finally, I examine the Venezuelan government’s passage of anti-NGO legislation in 2010. I argue that while the Venezuelan government sought to pass a highly restrictive form of anti-NGO legislation that would prohibit foreign funding for all NGOs in 2006, it stalled this legislation due to influence from several foreign countries and international groups. In 2010, following the Venezuelan government’s consolidation of relations with an anti-US nexus of countries, the Venezuelan government successfully passed a less comprehensive piece of anti-NGO legislation that prohibits foreign funding for political parties and political NGOs. INDEX WORDS: Venezuela; US Foreign Policy; Democracy Assistance; Political Sociology; Globalization; Non-Governmental Organizations; Socialism THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOCIALIST VENEZUELA: THE CASE OF US DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE, VENEZUELAN NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION LAW by TIMOTHY MICHAEL GILL B.A., John Carroll University, 2007 M.A., Cleveland State University, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2016 © 2016 Timothy Michael Gill All Rights Reserved THE STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY IN SOCIALIST VENEZUELA: THE CASE OF US DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE, VENEZUELAN NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION LAW by TIMOTHY MICHAEL GILL Major Professor: David Smilde Committee: Patricia Richards Pablo Lapegna Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2016 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are several people that I must thank for assisting me in the development and completion of my dissertation. From my first semester at the University of Georgia, David Smilde, my dissertation advisor and mentor, has provided me with an incredible amount of guidance, confidence, and support. I took four courses with David (Sociology of Religion, Development of Sociological Theory, Sociology of Culture, and Political Sociology), and, in those courses, I learned more about how to understand, critique, and do sociological research than I have anywhere else. Some of my greatest memories from the last seven years have been the debates, arguments, and jokes that transpired within David’s seminars. Outside of the classroom, David has been more than generous with his time and attention. Shortly after arriving at UGA, David and I were at Barberito’s talking about Michel Foucault’s conception of power and knowledge. I’m not sure what all those in earshot thought about the conversation, but I am so very grateful that David was willing to work with me over nearly the past decade. During this time, David always seriously entertained my interests, ideas, and claims. From my first semester onwards, David listened to me ramble about C. Wright Mills, Alvin Gouldner, punk music, Cleveland, wrestling, and, of course, my interest in Venezuelan politics and US foreign policy. There is no doubt that I came to UGA intellectually rough around the edges. I feel all the more confident as a junior scholar, knowing that I have worked so closely with David and that I have absorbed some of his sociological wisdom over these last few years. He has provided me with a number of opportunities regarding Venezuela that I would not have had should I have went to another university. More than this, David has become a friend over the years, and someone that I thoroughly to seeing whenever I can. v I served as a teaching assistant for David in his undergraduate theory courses, and much of my approach to interacting with students comes from David. It is an unfortunate truth that there are teachers and professors that cannot connect with students, disregard their teaching, and remain loathe to engage with students within and beyond the classroom. David, however, showed me that you can be an extremely productive scholar and a talented teacher too. David showed respect for his students, and they showed him respect in return. Learning from David’s approach and demeanor towards the students has provided me with an essential resource in my own work in the classroom. Outside of the classroom, David has provided my academic career with much excitement. He asked me to help him organize the Georgia Workshop on Culture, Power, and History for two years; selected me to work with him and Rebecca Hanson on Qualitative Sociology; and co- authored a paper and several pieces for the Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog with him, as well as a serve as co-moderator. All of these endeavors have provided with an incredibly rich academic experience that I never expected. The Georgia Workshops were events that I greatly looked forward to every semester. They involved vigorous academic discussion, where all participants were treated as peers and no condescension emerged. And, of course, I greatly looked forward to post-Workshop festivities out on the town. I will very much miss those meetings and outings in Athens, but I look forward to the years ahead with my colleagues. Patricia Richards has also provided me with recurrent support, guidance, and feedback throughout my time as a graduate student. In my second semester, I took a course on social movements with Patricia, and, in my second year, I served as a teaching assistant for her in a course on Latin American politics. In my interactions with Patricia, I have continually found that one can conduct sociological research and still maintain a critical viewpoint. I have also found vi myself enjoying a nice chuckle during each interaction I have had with Patricia, whether it was on my continuous usage of “what not” or a discussion on dealing with students in the classroom. Pablo Lapegna has been the third source of support to my dissertation puzzle. Although I did not enroll in any courses with Pablo, that is, because he arrived following my completion of coursework, I have learned very much from Pablo in our continual conversations in Baldwin Hall, during my comprehensive examinations, and at the Georgia Workshops. Pablo has provided me with much insight on journal publishing, developing interesting research questions, clarifying the importance of my research, and honing my methodology. Beyond my own project, I have thoroughly benefited from our conversations on Latin American politics more generally and punk music throughout the world. Pablo took over the Georgia Workshop following David’s move to Tulane, and maintained an equally cordial and welcoming atmosphere. He also continued the tradition of post-Workshop festivities that, as I noted above, became one of the highlights of each semester. Beyond my dissertation committee, I have also greatly benefited from interactions and instruction from Jim Dowd, Dawn Robinson, and Mark Cooney. Jim was the first professor that TA’d for at UGA. I was not sure what to expect and was given a number of new responsibilities. Jim, however, provided a warm atmosphere and always made time to discuss any issues that arose as a break-out session leader. Jim possesses a breadth of theoretical and empirical knowledge, as well as much insight on life in general. From the beginning until the end of my time at UGA, Jim has been an individual that I could consistently count on to take my ideas seriously, but give me his honest opinion and not beat around the bush. One of the first ideas I floated to him was to study the motivations behind US citizens expatriating to Central American countries. This was seven years ago, and, at a dinner in Athens only just a couple months ago vii he was asking me about this project. I had not thought about the project in years. I am very grateful to have had Jim’s encouragement – at workshops, presentations, as a professor, and as a friend. Dawn Robinson is someone that possesses an impossibly sharp understanding of the workings of sociology. In my second year as a graduate student, I took a course on contemporary sociological theory with her, and, since then, I have maintained an ongoing conversation with her concerning my research, my aspirations, the state of sociology, and a whole array of odds and ends.