Statebuilding versus state formation: the political economy of transition in Iraq and Libya Irene Costantini School of International Studies University of Trento 09/01/2015 Supervisor: Prof. Roberto Belloni Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. Statebuilding versus state formation: the political economy of transition in Iraq and Libya Irene Costantini ABSTRACT The international interventions in Iraq and Libya are exemplary of a decline in the expectations that statebuilding fervour can contribute to the full-fledged transformation of societies intervened upon. From the intervention in Iraq under the banner of “armed liberalism” to the “post-interventionist” approach that guided the intervention in Libya, international actors have renounced the grand transformative narrative traditionally sustaining post-conflict initiatives. This study investigates the impact of this changing statebuilding paradigm on state formation in Iraq and Libya. Bridging scholarship on post-conflict transitions as well as on the Middle East and North Africa region, this study addresses the question of the interplay between statebuilding and state formation from a political economy perspective: the emerging forms of economic governance of Iraq and Libya are illustrative of the broader problems affecting these countries. Through a process-oriented approach, this study moves beyond a narrowly-conceived institutional analysis and brings into focus actors in transition. Based on the theoretical discussion and the empirical findings, the study shows that an actor-oriented analysis has far more explanatory power than an institutionalist analysis. From a political economy perspective, the study focuses on the role of the private sector as an agent for change in transition: the emergence and consolidation of the policy prescription of developing the private sector has heralded a re-definition of the statebuilding agenda. Relying on a broad range of sources and data including interviews, policy papers, programmes’ reports, and evaluations, the analysis contends that this novel approach adds to the contradictory character of statebuilding: private sector development remains trapped between internationally held normative models and domestic power dynamics. Most importantly, private sector development entails a more interventionist approach that contradicts the principles of the self-regulating capacity of the This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. market. The thesis’ main argument is that by building parallel agencies and mechanisms, statebuilding deviates from the process of building states. In other words, statebuilding creates a mode of governance that undermines Weberian notions of statehood in post-conflict countries: while it penetrates deeply into society, statebuilding fails to generate state authority. Rather, it favours a dispersion of authority across levels of governance and different types of actors. The dispersion of authority in post-conflict transitions generates hybrid forms of political economy: adaptation and resistance to neoliberal norms, institutions, and models are continuously negotiated by competing actors. At the same time, the dispersion of authority contributes to undermining the distinction between the public and the private spheres: alternative forms of authority consolidate informal institutions and repertoires, and increasingly come to exercise state authority and functions. The disjuncture between state and stateness––the exercise of state authority and functions––shows the limits of analysing post-conflict transitions through the narrow lens of Weberian interpretation of the state and points to a re-evaluation of institutional analyses in light of notions of authority and legitimacy. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. Acknowledgement During the course of my research many people have helped me with their time, advice, and energy. I am particularly grateful to Professor Roberto Belloni for his invaluable comments and support during these three years of research: his advice has been precious. At the School of International Studies, University of Trento, I would like to thank all the academic and administrative staff. In particular, Professor Jens Woelk, Mark Beittel, Maria Rosaria Astarita, and Silvia Tomaselli helpfully assisted me with their time and dedication. A special thank goes to my PhD colleagues: in particular, Michele Bernini, Benedikt Erforth and Paula Guzzo Falci were great companions with whom I shared the ups and downs of my research. I am grateful to those institutions that hosted me as a visiting PhD student while doing my research. At the London School of Economics and Political Science, I would like to thank Professor Fawaz Gerges for his support during my visiting period. During my period of field work in Iraq, I was welcomed by the staff of Salahaddin University, Erbil: Dr. Mohammed Azeez Saeed and Dr. Sherzad A. Ameen were very helpful in making my period of research productive. I am also grateful to those people who, even without institutional obligation, helped me in different phases of this project: among them, Professor Charles Tripp, Professor George Joffé, and Professor Laura Guazzone gave me precious insights into my research. I have a debt of gratitude towards my family: they constantly and patiently supported my decisions and encouraged me to complete this thesis. Special thanks go to Michele Barbera whose support and love made this work possible. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. Table of Contents Introduction.....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1.........................................................................................................................................9 The debate on statebuilding: a review of the literature...................................................................9 1.1 Revisiting the debate: building states, nations, and peace................................................. 11 1.1.1 Nation-building between societal change and social engineering..............................11 1.1.2 Peacebuilding: universal norms for conflict management......................................... 14 1.2 Statebuilding versus state formation..................................................................................17 1.2.1 The state: definitional problems.................................................................................20 1.2.2 State formation: conflict, negotiation, and compromise............................................23 1.3 The political economy of post-conflict transition.............................................................. 26 1.3.1 The limits of the “international–local” dichotomy.....................................................29 1.3.2 The limits of institution-building............................................................................... 31 Conclusion............................................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 2.......................................................................................................................................37 Analysing post-conflict transitions: spaces, actors, and mechanisms..........................................37 2.1 Beyond the “international” and the “local”........................................................................40 2.1.1 The “dispersed” character of post-conflict governance.............................................41 2.1.2 Between adaptation and resistance: hybridity............................................................45 2.2. Beyond formal institution-building...................................................................................48 2.2.1 From building institutions to shaping actors.............................................................. 48 2.2.2 Contested spaces and informality...............................................................................52 2.3 Research question.............................................................................................................. 56 2.4 Methodology...................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3.......................................................................................................................................62 Redefining the economic agenda for statebuilding: from institution-building to the shaping of actors.............................................................................................................................................62 3.1 The private sector in neoliberalism....................................................................................63 3.2 The private sector on the international agenda.................................................................. 66 3.2.1 International financial institutions: from economics to politics.................................66 3.2.2 The United Nation system: from politics to economics.............................................71