Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts

329 Pages·2010·1.652 MB·English

by  Marc Weller, Katherine Nobbs

Asymmetric Autonomy
and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts
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NATIONAL AND ETHNIC CONFLICT
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Brendan O’Leary, Series Editor
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Asymmetric Autonomy
and the Settlement of Ethnic Confl icts
Edited by
Marc Weller Katherine Nobbs
and
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
PHILADELPHIA (cid:129)• OXFORD
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Copyright © 2010 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes
of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any
form by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-8122-4230-0
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Contents
Preface vii
Introduction 1
Part I: Asymmetrical Approaches to State Design
1 Cases of Asymmetrical Territorial Autonomy
Stefan Wolff 17
2 The Russian Constitutional System: Complexity and Asymmetry
Bill Bowring 48
3 Partial Asymmetry and Federal Construction: Accommodating Diversity in the
Canadian Constitution
Raffaele Iacovino 75
4 Elusive Autonomy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Coel Kirkby and Christina Murray 97
5 Asymmetry in the Face of Heavily Disproportionate Power Relations: Hong Kong
Johannes Chan 121
6 Asymmetric Autonomy in the United Kingdom
John McGarry 148
Part II: Confl ict Settlements
7 Thinking About Asymmetry and Symmetry in the Remaking of Iraq
Brendan O’Leary 183
Part III: Emerging Settlements
8 The Case for Asymmetric Federalism in Georgia: A Missed Opportunity
Jonathan Wheatley 213
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vi Contents
9 Gagauz Autonomy in Moldova: The Real and the Virtual in Post-Soviet State Design
Oleh Protsyk 231
10 Asymmetric Autonomy and Power Sharing for Sri Lanka: A Political Solution to
Ethnic Confl ict?
Kristina Eichhorst 252
11 Puntland’s Declaration of Autonomy and Somaliland’s Secession: Two Quests for
Self-Governance in a Failed State
Janina Dill 278
Conclusion 298
List of Contributors 307
Index 311
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Preface
This book is an outcome of a long-term research project supported by
the Carnegie Corporation of New York. We are particularly grateful for
this support and for the generous advice and guidance offered by Steve
del Rosso of the Corporation.
The fi rst phase of the project addressed the nature of self-determina-
tion confl icts and the defi ciencies of international legal regulation in
this respect. This work, previously appearing in scholarly articles and
book chapters, is now embodied in a monograph (Escaping the Self-
Determination Trap). During this phase, the principal collaborators of the
project also addressed traditional mechanisms of ethnopolitical confl ict
settlement (Autonomy, Self-Governance, and Confl ict Resolution).
The team then extended its investigation into an analysis of complex
power sharing as a new means of addressing previously unresolvable con-
fl icts. Over the 1990s in particular, major innovations had taken place in
this area; we set out to analyze these while simultaneously refi ning the
theoretical understanding of the meaning and complexity of the con-
cept of power sharing (Settling Self-Determination Confl icts).
The emphasis on complex power sharing in international settlement
practice has now been somewhat eclipsed by a return to autonomy set-
tlements. However, this is by no means a simple reversion to previous
practice. Instead, many of the most recent settlements, or projected set-
tlements, are supported by power-sharing arrangements. These, along
with more monodimensional autonomy settlements, share a strong focus
on asymmetrical autonomy. It was thus deemed appropriate at this point
to investigate the novel aspects of asymmetrical state design as a tool of
ethnopolitical confl ict settlement.
As this volume goes to press, the team is turning its attention to an-
other aspect of the management of interethnic relations. Having devoted
much time and energy to issues of the macroconstruction of ethnically
diverse (or divided) states, we are now addressing solutions that can be
adopted below the level of major constitutional revision. This work (Politi-
cal Participation of Minorities) considers the institutions, mechanisms, and
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viii Preface
practices for fostering political participation of nondominant groups in
the overall state, in relation to issues or regions of special importance to
the respective communities.
We therefore see this volume as part of our ongoing investigation into
ways and means of accommodating nondominant groups within existing
states. We are particularly indebted to members of the global research
team assembled for this project. Once again, the contributions we have
received are original and refl ective, and they signifi cantly advance the
agenda of this venture: to contribute to the stabilization of states placed
at risk through ethnopolitical confl ict.
Finally, we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Peter Agree
and Alison Anderson their of the University of Pennsylvania Press for
their support and patience during the editorial process.
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Introduction
Marc Weller
Over the past two decades, there has been a profusion of settlements of
self-determination and ethnic confl icts. In the majority of these cases,
asymmetric autonomy has been used as the principal tool of settlement.
What follows is an investigation of this novel practice.
The concept of autonomy conjures up a sense of separateness, of self-
governance largely independent of a central state. Independence of gov-
ernance from the center suggests a potential for separation by means
of the centrifugal forces of disintegration. Nevertheless, autonomy solu-
tions have been increasingly proposed as a remedy to separatist tenden-
cies within states. In short, what appears at fi rst sight to be a disintegrative
solution is said to have an integrative effect. This book seeks to address
this apparent paradox. The fi rst of its three principal aims is to test the
integrative power of the autonomy design.
Where autonomy is offered as a means of confl ict settlement, it needs
to be tailored specifi cally to the particular circumstances of the situation
in question. This lack of generality adds to the diffi culties encountered
with autonomy as a solution to ethnoterritorial confl ict. While the au-
tonomy design has to be suffi ciently specifi c to meet the exigencies of
the case at hand, it must be incorporated within the existing structure of
the overall state as, generally, the central authorities will not be willing
to change the overall constitutional makeup of the state in order to ac-
commodate separatist pressure emanating from just one or more of its
segments. Hence, asymmetric settlements tend to ensue.
Asymmetric state designs bring with them certain problems and dilem-
mas of their own, beyond the diffi cult dimension of the ethnic confl ict
that may have led to their institution. The second principal aim of this
book is to identify the challenges inherent in asymmetrical settlements
and to establish whether and how they have been gradually overcome as
experience in the design of such settlements has increased.
During the fi rst wave of post-Cold War settlements of internal (and
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