The Role of Patron States in the State Building Processes of De Facto States

• In Event: States, Local Communities and Informal Institutions in Eastern Europe and Russia

Abstract

De facto states challenge basic assumptions of political and legal legitimacy, sovereignty and statehood in the international system. These largely internationally unrecognised entities are also not the likeliest candidates for successful state building, due to their limited trading opportunities and significant military pressures from their parent states. Nonetheless, some de facto states built relatively successful state structures on their contested territory. While some unrecognised entities achieved state building without the backing of a patron (i.e. Somaliland, Eritrea, Iraqi Kurdistan), others are largely dependent on the financial, political and military support of patrons to provide basic public services and goods to its citizens (i.e. South Ossetia, Northern Cyprus). Therefore, this paper aims to uncover the extent to which patron states (or the lack thereof) influence state and institution building efforts of de facto states. More specifically, the paper intends to identify the leverage and instruments available to patron states in impacting the development of governance institutions and the provision of public services and goods in de facto states. The study relies on statistical analyses of a data set of 34 de facto states since 1945. These findings will be complemented with an in-depth case study of Russian involvement in Abkhazia’s state building pursuits since 1991. The case study predominantly utilises interviews conducted in Tbilisi, Sokhum, St Petersburg and Moscow in 2017 and 2018. It will be argued that patron states generally support de facto states in guaranteeing minimal civilian governance. Patrons are, however, not interested in creating coherent government structures in de facto states, as this would reduce the level of de facto state dependence on the patron state. Ultimately, this would suggest that patrons not only influence de facto states through financial incentives and military support, but also through state and institution building channels. In addition, the analysis of Russian influences on Abkhazia reveals three dimensions of Russian state building involvement in the South Caucasian de facto state: financial contributions, institutional and legislative diffusion as well as treaties and agreements that specify state building measures.

Author

• Till Spanke, London School of Economics and Political Science