Promoting Peace or Selling Norms? NGO Mediators and “All-Inclusiveness” in Myanmar’s Peace Process Dissertation zur Erlangung der Würde einer Doktorin der Philosophie vorgelegt der Philosophisch-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Basel von Julia Palmiano Federer aus Kanada Basel, 2020 Druck im Eigenverlag Originaldokument gespeichert auf dem Dokumentenserver der Universität Basel edoc.unibas.ch 1 2 Genehmigt von der Philosophisch-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Basel, auf Antrag von Professor Dr. Laurent Goetschel, Professor Dr. Richard Price und Dr. Sara Hellmüller. Basel, 22 August 2019 Der Dekan Prof. Dr. Ralph Ubl 3 For Wendelin Cover photo taken by W. Federer in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 2016. 4 Abstract Peace mediators are no longer only tasked with brokering ceasefires between negotiating parties in conflict situations, but are also increasingly expected to promote international norms such as gender equality, transitional justice, democracy and inclusivity to the parties. Their shifting role from peace broker to peacebuilder is well documented in policy documents and a growing body of peace research literature on the role of peacemaking actors in promoting norms. In particular, the onus of designing inclusive peace processes in which non-armed actors such as civil society organizations are represented in peace negotiations or in peace agreement clauses has also increasingly fallen on the shoulders of mediators. If mediators are increasingly pressured to promote these norms to the negotiating parties, what agency do they have to do so in the first place? In this dissertation, I analyse to what extent mediators can promote the inclusivity norm to negotiating parties to shed theoretical and empirical light on this development in peace mediation. I draw from norm entrepreneurship and norm localization theory in international relations literature, and adapt it to peace mediation to conceptually examine this question. Recognizing the heterogeneity of mediators, I focus my analysis on nongovernmental (NGO) mediators, professionalized conflict resolution NGOs that take on public facilitation or mediation functions or activities among and between negotiating parties in a peace process. As NGO mediators possess limited political or material leverage on the negotiating parties in mediation processes, I analyse to what extent varied forms of soft power comprise their normative agency in promoting the inclusivity norm to negotiating parties. Using a qualitative approach rooted in constructivist ontology, I employ a combination of case study and process tracing methodology to understand the extent of NGO mediators’ normative agency in the ongoing peace process in Myanmar. The country’s historical resistance to outside involvement in conflict resolution render it an interesting case to test the limits of the agency of actors without formal mandates or political leverage, and analysing it contributes to critical peace research scholarship related to peace mediation. The Myanmar case illustrates the limits of normative agency in mediation processes. The increasingly salient discourse around inclusivity only reified existing notions about inclusion and exclusion in ethnic politics as Myanmar negotiating parties localized the inclusivity norm as per their own interpretations. This resulted in an impasse between the parties in terms of which key armed actors and non-armed actors were ultimately excluded. Thus, while NGO mediators do possess the agency to act as norm entrepreneurs, the Myanmar case serves as a cautionary tale of promoting a so-called universal norm into a given locale and expecting a certain outcome without understanding how an external norm interacts with existing normative frameworks. However, despite the growing normative framework in mediation, the voices of national peace process actors themselves are often pushed to the wayside. As armed conflicts become more protracted and peace processes become more complex, the need to understand the role norms play in a specific context remains imperative. 5 This dissertation was written in the framework of the 2015-2018 Swiss National Science Foundation- funded project, “Are mediators norm entrepreneurs?,” which focused on three case studies: United Nations mediators in Syria, intergovernmental mediators in South Sudan, and NGO mediators in Myanmar. 6 Acknowledgements This PhD dissertation would not have been possible without the support and friendship of mentors, colleagues, friends and family. My PhD was carried out in the framework of the Swiss National Science Foundation project, “Are mediators norm entrepreneurs?” at the University of Basel, and I am grateful to both institutions for making my research possible. I would also like to sincerely thank the Graduate Center for Social Sciences, the Swiss Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences and the International Graduate School North-South (IGS North-South) for their support for courses, conferences, and field research trips. I am sincerely grateful for the support of my PhD committee: Dr. Prof. Laurent Goetschel for his engaged and incisive guidance at critical points in the PhD, Dr. Sara Hellmüller for her incredible guidance, mentorship and support along this whole journey, and Dr. Prof. Richard Price for his inspiring and levelled feedback. Conducting a PhD can be isolating work, and I was lucky to be part of a wonderful research team. I would like to thank Jamie Pring, who inspired me daily with her hard work, intelligence and friendship. I truly benefitted from the knowledge, experience and comraderie by many at swisspeace, especially the research community: Julie Bernath, Sergio Gemperle, Ulrike Luehe, Toon Dirkx, Dana Landau, Martina Santschi and Alexandre Raffoul. A special thanks to Elizabeth Mesok for her early edits of my PhD. I am also indebted to the support of the mediation/Myanmar team at swisspeace past and present throughout this process, especially the sisterhood of Rachel Gasser who introduced me to Myanmar and helped inspire me to go on this journey, as well as Rina Alluri, whose family gave me a home away from home. I am also grateful for the friendship and support of Stefan Baechtold, Matthias Siegfried and David Lanz. I am also lucky to have connected with many other researchers along this journey, including Maren Larsen, Owen Frazer, Valerie Sticher, Francesca Rickli and Paroma Ghose. A special thanks to Haidee Kongpreecha for her trusting friendship and fine-combed editing on the final version of the dissertation. Myanmar has become a second home for me during the PhD process and I have so many to thank for this. Thank you to all my interview respondents who took time to share their deeply personal thoughts and opinions. Thank you to Jackson Bahn for your invaluable editing work and friendship. Special thanks to Jotamoi Anin for the translation work and Sar Yar Poine, Mi Pone Nyan Chai and Mi Kun Chan Non at the Mon Women’s Organization for your hospitality and friendship. To our little Mawlamyine biker gang, especially Anna Taquet, Mary Thompson and Jordan Pescrillo, thank you for the memories. Sofia Busch, thank you for your earnest support and inspiring friendship. Thanks also to Shona Loong and others in the Burma studies community that have welcomed me with open arms. The PhD was a rewarding, but emotionally and psychologically gruelling process. Mid-way through my PhD journey, I suffered from a mental health crisis that so many doctoral students around the world are also experiencing at alarming rates – burnout, anxiety attacks and depression. Despite the stigma around 7 mental health, it is important for me to share this story. I am proud of myself for completing my PhD after and in spite of these challenges, and have become an advocate for open and honest discussions about the mental health of graduate students, especially those in the field of peace research. Words cannot express how grateful I am for the support of those near and far who have supported me during this time. I am so grateful to those who have supported me through the brightest and darkest moments of this journey. Tony Moody: for listening with kindness and patience. Leanne Saratan, Sarah Vernier, eastvanwomen and the feminatrix: who show that distances don’t mean a thing. To my sister Rica Yatco, Ron Yatco, Rielle and Romy: for bringing unbridled love, joy and support into my life. To Monika and Jakob Federer: for your earnest and loving support. To my parents Benito and Catherine Palmiano: for giving everything so I could be here. Lastly, to my husband Wendelin Federer, whose intelligence, unwavering support and love both lifted me up and grounded me when it counted most, and to Alva, who has brought unmeasured joy and inspiration to the completion of my PhD journey. 8 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 7 Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 16 1. Current State of Research and My Contributions to Literature ................................................ 18 2.