Maurer School of Law: Indiana University Digital Repository @ Maurer Law Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship 7-2014 The Visible Effects of an Invisible Constitution: The Contested State of Transdniestria's Search for Recognition through International Negotiations Nadejda Mazur Indiana University Maurer School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/etd Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Constitutional Law Commons, International Law Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Mazur, Nadejda, "The Visible Effects of an Invisible Constitution: The Contested State of Transdniestria's Search for Recognition through International Negotiations" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 6. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/etd/6 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE VISIBLE EFFECTS OF AN INVISIBLE CONSTITUTION: THE CONTESTED STATE OF TRANSDNIESTRIA’S SEARCH FOR RECOGNITION THROUGH INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS Nadejda Mazur Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University July 2014 Accepted by the faculty, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee Timothy W. Waters Professor of Law David C. Williams John S. Hastings Professor of Law Susan H. Williams Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law Dr. Ilana M. Gershon Associate Professor of Anthropology May 8, 2014 Copyright © 2014 Nadejda Mazur Acknowledgements I would like to express the deepest appreciation to all my committee members. I am grateful to Ilana Gershon for her academic and personal support, and invaluable advice on navigating a doctoral program. I thank David Williams for his unique insights on my work, suggestions, and inspiring encouragements. I am profoundly indebted to Susan Williams for believing in me and for her years of academic guidance, help, and care. Finally, I am endlessly grateful to my adviser, Timothy Waters, for his teachings, regional knowledge, patience, creativity, and sense of humor. Nadejda Mazur The Visible Effects of an Invisible Constitution: The Contested State of Transdniestria’s Search for Recognition through International Negotiations Most scholars agree that modern states share several defining characteristics: a population, territory, government, and the capacity to enter into international relations. More recently, this list has expanded to include the criteria of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. These traditional and contemporary criteria for statehood are likewise essential for settling the status of de facto states, entities that seek international recognition yet are rebuffed by the world community. By examining the criteria for international recognition from the perspective of constitutional law, this dissertation reveals the existing but overlooked relationship between the recognition process and constitutionalism. As is shown, a constitution performs more than its usual functions of organizing and regulating a polity, limiting the government, and ensuring individuals protection. It also plays a key role in asserting and realizing both the traditional and contemporary criteria for state recognition. This linkage between constitutionalism and the recognition process is then tested on the case study of Transdniestria, an entity within the Republic of Moldova that has all the attributes of a state and seeks recognition of its statehood. As one of the first analyses of unrecognized foundational legal frameworks, this dissertation offers insight into how an “invisible” constitution affects the recognition process and the political status of an unrecognized state. It shows that, while the Transdniestrian constitution has not influenced the entity’s search for recognition, it has had other important effects on the negotiation process, such as consolidating Transdniestrian statehood, hardening ii the entity’s position in negotiations, and influencing the nature of its interactions with international actors. These outcomes broaden the understanding of the contemporary criteria for recognition and the functions of a constitution with respect to their application in unrecognized states. They also demonstrate the limitations of the prevailing approach in the literature that democratization is necessarily beneficial for the purposes of conflict resolution. In such a way, this research additionally helps to present a more nuanced picture of post-Cold War politics, law, and international relations in Europe. iii Table of Contents List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Maps .................................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE. DOCTRINAL FRAMEWORK: THE ROLE OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN THE STATE RECOGNITION PROCESS ............................. 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6 1. Defining the Recognition of a State, a Constitution, and Constitutionalism .................... 7 1.1 The Recognition of States .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Constitutions and Constitutionalism ............................................................................................................ 14 2. Constitutions as a Part of the Recognition Process ........................................................... 20 2.1. Doctrinal Framework for the Relevance of a Constitution for the Prospects of Recognition ...................... 20 2.1.1. The Tobar Doctrine .............................................................................................................................. 25 2.1.2. The Montevideo Convention ............................................................................................................... 31 2.1.3. United Nations Membership ................................................................................................................ 35 2.1.4. The Helsinki Final Act ......................................................................................................................... 45 2.1.5. The EU Guidelines on Recognition ..................................................................................................... 49 2.1.6. The Copenhagen Criteria ..................................................................................................................... 60 2.2. Examples of Practices Consistent with the Doctrinal Framework ............................................................... 69 2.2.1. Croatia ................................................................................................................................................. 69 2.2.2. Kosovo ................................................................................................................................................. 70 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER TWO. CASE STUDY: UNRECOGNIZED STATES IN SEARCH OF RECOGNITION ................................................................................................................. 79 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 79 iv 1. The Concept of an Unrecognized State .............................................................................. 80 2. The Case of Transdniestria ................................................................................................. 90 2.1. Historical Background ................................................................................................................................. 90 2.2. The Origins of Transdniestria’s Separation ............................................................................................... 100 2.3. Transdniestria as a De Facto State and as a Case Study ............................................................................ 109 2.3.1. Transdniestria as a De Facto State ..................................................................................................... 109 2.3.2. Transdniestria as a Case Study .......................................................................................................... 113 3. Case Study Methodology ................................................................................................... 115 3.1. Review of Constitutional Acts ................................................................................................................... 115 3.2. Study of Official Public Statements ..........................................................................................................