Secessionist framing: The role of different discourses in creating arguments for self-determination By Beáta Huszka Central European University International Relations and European Studies Department Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Word Count: 90496 Supervisor: Erin Jenne CEU eTD Collection Budapest February 2010 Declaration I hereby declare that the thesis contains no materials accepted for any other degrees in any other institutions. To my knowledge the thesis does not contain unreferenced material or ideas from other authors. Name: Beáta Huszka Signature: CEU eTD Collection I Abstract By looking at the self determination movements which emerged in Yugoslavia and its successor states, we find that the various movements were framed very differently while political leaders tried to garner support for their state building ambitions. While Slovenia claimed to seek independence mainly on economic grounds, in Croatia, historical and ethno- nationalist arguments dominated the discourse on independence. Economic arguments played a prominent role also in Montenegro during mobilization where, however, a reformist, pro-democracy rhetoric became the most salient. The question arises why in some cases of self-determination elites push for a higher level of sovereignty in the name of economic advancement, whereas in other cases, self-determination movements refer to ethnic identity, human rights issues and other kind of rationale. Therefore, this dissertation specifically asks why some movements are framed by certain types of arguments and not by others. Why did the Montenegrin independence movement rely so heavily on a pro-democracy rhetoric and why did economic arguments become so central in Slovenia? How can it be explained that in Croatia ethno-nationalist themes dominated while references to economic reasons remained marginal? This study is based on the assumption that framing influences inter-ethnic dynamics during the course of a self-determination movement in a multi-ethnic setting. While mobilization centered on ethnicity tend to exclude minorities from the national community, by contrast movements employing economic or pro-democracy arguments tend to express claims with reference to a territorial unit not to an ethnic group. Thus they are less likely to CEU eTD Collection alienate minorities than so called “primordialist nationalist” arguments referring to ethnic identity. Consequently, it can be argued that a relevant aspect distinguishing mobilization discourses from each other is whether they define collective identity in ethnically inclusive or exclusive way. II By studying the Slovenian, the Croatian and the Montenegrin independence movement, the goal of this study is to explain how and why certain discourses come to dominate some independence movements and not others. Thus the present dissertation aims to shed light on the dynamics of secessionist framing, that is how politicians interpret events and present arguments with the intention to mobilize their constituencies for independence. I fundamentally argue that from the standpoint of what sort of identity constitutes the basis of a nationalist movement, the most crucial factor is whether there is a widespread perception of internal threat associated with the presence of a local minority. Where such perceptions emerge and become widespread, collective identity is likely to be framed in an ethnically exclusive way, as a result inter-ethnic relations are often marked by serious tensions. By contrast, in the absence of such perceptions, frames communicating an ethnically inclusive national self-understanding tend to dominate, which are less likely to alienate ethnic minorities, thus can contribute to the maintenance of ethnic peace. CEU eTD Collection III Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor, Erin Jenne. She not only helped me to develop my theoretical argument but I owe her gratitude also for her constant encouragement and trust which was invaluable for finishing this project. I am grateful for her comments and insights, and that she was willing to read my long chapters over and over again providing me always with new advices. I would not have been able to finish this dissertation without the help of my friend, Zsófi Somogyi who supported and encouraged me in the worst moments of these years. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dušan Jovoviü and his family who were not only wonderful hosts in Podgorica but mobilized all their contacts to organize the interviews for me in Montenegro. I am grateful to László Bruszt whose comments helped me a lot to figure out my theoretical design. In Slovenia I would like to thank Darko Štrajn who fascinated me with his personal stories about Slovenian democratic transition, and helped me to get into contact with people in Ljubljana whose insight into the Slovenian independence movement proved to be very valuable. I am grateful to Ante Basic for the discussions we had about the Yugoslavia and for his readiness to help me out with contacts and practical information whenever was needed. I would also like to thank Tamás Pintér for his indispensable technical assistance. Last but not least, I want to express my special gratitude to Nicu Popescu who believed in and CEU eTD Collection trusted me more than I did myself and whose encouragement gave me a lot of strength throughout this long process. IV Contents I. Theoretical introduction ..................................................................................................1 Research context .............................................................................................................1 Possible explanations ......................................................................................................6 “Framing” nationalist movements .................................................................................11 Three Mobilizational Frames.........................................................................................16 THE ARGUMENT .......................................................................................................23 Research design and case selection................................................................................42 II. Mobilization for independence in Slovenia ..................................................................46 Introduction ..................................................................................................................46 Antecedent discourses in Slovenia.................................................................................52 Event: “The trial of the four”.........................................................................................65 Framing the Kosovo conflict .........................................................................................74 Framing the constitutional amendments in Slovenia ......................................................77 The ‘economic war’ ......................................................................................................82 The election campaign in 1990......................................................................................83 The referendum campaign.............................................................................................91 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................99 III. Mobilization for independence in Croatia .................................................................103 Introduction ................................................................................................................103 The political climate and discourse in Croatia before the spring of 1990......................107 The discourse of the Croatian communist party in the late 1980s.................................115 The 1990 Elections......................................................................................................130 The parties..................................................................................................................131 The campaign – the main themes.................................................................................135 Campaign of the HDZ.................................................................................................138 HDZ and the Croatian Serbs ..........................................................................................143 CEU eTD Collection The KNS.........................................................................................................................146 SKH-SDP .......................................................................................................................148 Perceptions of the Electorate..........................................................................................150 The HDZ rule and the referendum on independence....................................................152 Conclusion..................................................................................................................157 V IV. Discursive construction of the Montenegrin independence movement ......................160 Introduction ................................................................................................................160 The beginning of the independence movement ............................................................163 1. Frame shift: the