International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Autonomy as a Strategy for Diffusing Conflict
Autonomy as a Strategy for Diffusing Conflict
Pages 483-530
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From page 483... ...
The use of autonomous or federal arrangements for dealing with ethnic conflicts is a relatively new development, although federalism was instituted in Canada as early as 1867 to manage tensions between the Anglophone and Francophone communities (Watts, 2000) and autonomy arrangements mediated the relationship between Russia and its possession of the Duchy of Finland at an even earlier period (Rae, 1997~.
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From page 484... ...
. Other factors may also change options, such as persistent refusal to consider effective autonomy (as in Sri Lanka in the late 1970s and early 1980s)
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From page 485... ...
The apartheid policy of Bantustans was a modern version. However, in recent years the aspirations and historical claims of indigenous peoples have been recognized through the transformation of reserves into self-governing areas, particularly in Canada and the Philippines, although the extent to which they can opt out of national laws, which may be necessary for the preservation of their political and cultural practices, is variable.
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From page 486... ...
Nonterritorial Autonomy A major limitation of territorial Revolution of power is that it is restricted to circumstances where there is a regional concentration of an ethnic group. Sometimes attempts are made to transcend this limitation by corporate autonomy, whereby an ethnic group is given forms of collective rights.
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From page 487... ...
The choice of labels is not important for purposes of negotiations, and some deliberate fudging may indeed be beneficial, especially if the constitution seems to prohibit some options (as in China, Sri Lanka, and Spain where a unitary state is mandated) or where there is particular sensitivity about sovereignty (as in China)
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From page 488... ...
When negotiations enter a difficult phase, there is the temptation to devise some fancy scheme that may produce a temporary consensus that is hard to operationalize; thus, there is a conflict between immediate and long-term interests. Federal or autonomy arrangements are inherently hard to operate, requiring both high administrative capacity and political skills, and the embroidery on classical systems that tough negotiations may lead to would undermine long-term prospects of settlement by their sheer weight or complexity.
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From page 489... ...
The danger of excesses that majoritarianism may give rise to is frequently tempered by mechanisms of accountability, conventions of tolerance, and a regime of human rights. The danger is also mitigated by varying degrees of homogeneity, with many common bonds among the people acting to discourage the oppression of others.
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From page 490... ...
Despite increasing adoption of autonomy, its legal basis is unclear (Hannum, 1990; Thornberry, 1998~. In principle, the case for autonomy rests on three principal sources: minority rights; indigenous peoples' rights; and, more controversially, the right to self-determination.
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From page 491... ...
Similar principles have been used for admission to the Council of Europe and the KU. Indigenous Peoples The Convention on Indigenous Peoples, adopted in 1991 and representing a reversal of paternalistic and assimilationist approaches followed in the 1959 convention, recognized the "aspirations of these [indigenous]
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From page 492... ...
, although Asian and African governments deny the existence of indigenous peoples in their states and the instruments have had little impact there (Brolmann and Zieck, 1993; Stavenhagen, 1998; Alfredson, 1998; Kingsbury, l999~. Indigenous people, particularly in North America, also base their claims on other legal bases: (a)
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From page 493... ...
. Propelled by these factors, a number of constitutions now recognize some entitlement to self-government, such as the Philippines in relation to two provinces, one for indigenous people and the other for a religious minority; Spain, which guarantees autonomy to three regions and invites others to negotiate with the center for autonomy; Papua New Guinea, which authorizes provinces to negotiate with the central government for substantial Revolution of power; Fiji, which recognizes the right of indigenous people to their own administration at the local level; and recently Ethiopia, which gives its "nations, nationalities, and peoples" the right to seek wide-ranging powers as states within a federation and guarantees them even the right to secession.
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From page 494... ...
There are also numerous occasions when autonomy has been unacceptable to a party in conflict, either the central government or the ethnic group. There are examples of the abrupt withdrawal of autonomy because the central government rejects pluralism or considers that its continued operation is a threat to state integrity through secession (as in southern Sudan and Kosovo)
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From page 495... ...
Other examples of regional autonomy include the Italian South Tyrol, for the protection of cultural and political rights of its substantial German-speaking population, the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua for the protection of its indigenous people, and Chittagong Tract Hills in Bangladesh. Its imaginative use by China for the reunification of Hong Kong and Macau helped to resolve differences between China on the one hand and the United Kingdom and Portugal on the other; but its potential for the resolution of the Taiwan question has yet to be tested (Ghai, 1997, 1998a, 2000~.
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From page 496... ...
While the course of subsequent negotiations has not been smooth, the concession of autonomy undoubtedly eased tensions and helped the longer-term process of finding a definitive status for a Palestinian state. In Hong Kong autonomy is also seen as transitional it is guaranteed only for 50 years.
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From page 497... ...
Autonomy arrangements also contribute to constitutionalism in that they divide power. The guarantees for autonomy and the modalities for their enforcement emphasis the rule of law and the roles of independent institutions.
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From page 498... ...
It has proved impossible to muster enough political support for significant autonomy in Sri Lanka despite years of negotiations and waves of violence. The Sudanese government has strenuously resisted autonomy for southern Sudan.
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From page 499... ...
Even if persuaded of the value of autonomy, leaders of the majority community may be reluctant to concede it, fearing the loss of electoral support among its own community (a problem that has bedeviled Sri Lanka)
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From page 500... ...
Autonomy frequently relies on group rights (such as that of indigenous peoples or in the Quebecois version) , and group rights involve discrimination against both those inside and outside the group.
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From page 501... ...
. Autonomy granted to a minority in its "homeland" may in turn create new minorities (as with Muslims in northeastern Sri Lanka, which the Tamil Tigers want under their control, or Christians in Mindanao)
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From page 502... ...
A high level of durability is one in which the conflict has subsided militarily after the initiation of the autonomy and the autonomy has continued to exist on the basis of an operative political document after at least one constitutional change of government/head of government in the central state. A low level of durability is one in which one of these conditions is missing.
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From page 503... ...
Another difficulty is that different parties have different expectations from autonomy arrangements, precluding a common measure of performance. There are frequently diverse objectives of autonomy, so that there may be a tradeoff between them.
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From page 504... ...
Propositions About Circumstances When the Concession of Autonomy Is Likely The prospects of establishing autonomy arrangements are strongest when the state undergoes a regime change. The establishment of autonomy involves a major reorganization of the state.
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From page 505... ...
Imperial rule produced many multiethnic colonies; centralized rule established during colonial rule was unacceptable to many communities upon independence. A large number of autonomy arrangements were established upon independence (e.g., India, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Indonesia)
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From page 506... ...
Contemporary examples include Bosnia Herzogovina, the Rambouillet proposals for Kosovo, Crimea, Palestine, and the continuing involvement of the UN in a search for a federal solution in Cyprus. The Organisation of Islamic States brought considerable pressure on the Philippine Muslims to accept autonomy; in Sri Lanka the Indian government intervened to secure autonomy for the Tamils; and the UN oversaw the development of autonomy proposals for East Timor.
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From page 507... ...
Autonomy arrangements require give and take; they depend on frequent negotiations for adjustments of relationships or the implementation of law. Elected representatives at the center and regions enjoy the support of their people and are respected as such.
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From page 508... ...
Franco's followers were prepared to discuss regional autonomy in Spain only when agreement was reached on what is now Article 2 of the 1978 constitution: "The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible country of all Spaniards." In some countries preemptive steps are taken against the concession of large measures of autonomy by declaring the unitary nature of the state or the inalienability of the legislative supremacy of the national parliament (e.g., Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea, respectively)
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From page 509... ...
Regional autonomy in Sri Lanka has become difficult because of the secessionist claims of the Tamil Tigers. It also reflects a situation in which autonomy is rejected by its potential beneficiaries precisely because the acceptance of autonomy is seen to compromise their grander design of independence.
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From page 510... ...
Papua New Guinea based its regions neither on the Papua New Guinea divide nor the highland-coastal-island divide but on the more numerous districts. Spain achieved multipolarity by extending the offer of autonomy to communities defined as "nonhistoric" and Sri Lanka tried to make autonomy more palatable to the Sinhala by dividing the Sinhala-dominated area into districts and generalizing autonomy.
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From page 511... ...
Autonomies based on ethnicity may also be harder to operate, for if the autonomous regions are separated by ethnic differences, there may be more antagonism than cooperation. The relative success of autonomy in Switzerland, India, and until recently in Canada is explained on the basis of cross-cutting identities.
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From page 512... ...
Hong Kong's autonomy also owes little to the participation of its residents, being an agreement between the incoming and departing sovereigns. However, Hong Kong's autonomy is valued greatly by its residents because they realize that the alternative would be complete assimilation into the Chinese political and economic system.
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From page 513... ...
On the other hand, there were no referenda in Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, or Mindanao. It is hard to generalize about the role of the referendum.
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From page 514... ...
The relevant constitutional instruments provided for various mechanisms for consultation and mediation, particularly important as they also provided for the phased transfer of powers to the provinces. Meetings were indeed held regularly, but the central government regularly disregarded agreements reached or recommendations made.
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From page 515... ...
From the point of view of a group wanting autonomy, there is an advantage in getting what it wants in one go; there are critical moments in history when the group is in a strong negotiating position, such as when it is willing to end a revolt or there are international pressures on the central government. If the province does not capitalize on that moment, it may be unable to secure transfers of further power.
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From page 516... ...
, and there is inadequate knowledge of various technical points in the drafting of autonomy arrangements. There is frequently such pressure for agreement on broad political principles that institutional details are paid insufficient attention.
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From page 517... ...
The weakening of autonomy in Hong Kong is the result of having a China-appointed executive and a nondemocratic legislature (Ghai, 1997, 1998~. Agreement on autonomy is easier if guarantees of the rights of minorities, which are created by autonomy arrangements, can be secured.
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From page 518... ...
Propositions About the Social and Political Consequences of Autonomy Arrangements Asymmetric arrangements are a characteristic feature of ethnic autonomy, but they tend toward symmetry. A major factor that distinguishes ethnic autonomy from classical federations is its asymmetrical features.
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From page 519... ...
Residents of a region may have special rights, at least in the region, that are not available to other citizens (as in the concept of a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Ghai, 2000~. Asymmetry enables different degrees of assimilation or integration into the state.
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From page 520... ...
Similar developments took place in Spain, where all provinces or groupings of provinces were given roughly the same options as the "historic territories." Increasingly, Spain takes on the appearance of a federation and a symmetrical one at that. The Revolution to provincial councils in Sri Lanka followed a similar trajectory, diluting the special claims of Tamils to autonomy.
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From page 521... ...
It is said that Chamberlain considered the asymmetrical home rule proposals for Ireland to have such a potential for the breakup of the British Empire that he even contemplated a symmetrically constituted British federation (lay, 1989~. The future feasibility and viability of multiethnic autonomy thus depend greatly on how asymmetry is negotiated.
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From page 522... ...
Nevertheless, it is widely believed that territorial autonomy will lead to secession and that corporate autonomy will impede national integration. Autonomy increases the resources and strengthens the identities of regional minorities, frequently justifying a claim of secession under the principles of self-determination.
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From page 523... ...
Both federations relied heavily on the Communist Party to hold them together, preventing an organic unity. Also the central authorities used ethnicities in opportunistic ways, not calculated to promote good interethnic relations.
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From page 524... ...
The troubles of 1989 had a common source the inequitable distribution of income from the copper mine but this time it was not a provincialwide protest but had its origins in disputes among the community that owned the land on which the mine was located and concerned the internal distribution of royalties (Ghai and Regan, 2000~. The local democratic forces to which autonomy gave rise were as much the victims of the anger and violence of the rebels as the central authorities.
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From page 525... ...
Zieck 1993 Indigenous peoples. In Peoples and Minorities in International Law, Catherine Brolmann, Rene Lefeber, and Marjoleine Zieck, eds.
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From page 526... ...
Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. 1997 The New Constitutional Order of Hong Kong: The Resumption of Chinese Sovereignty and the Basic Law.
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From page 527... ...
Kingsbury, Benedict 1999 The applicability of the international legal concept of indigenous peoples in Asia. In The East Asian Challenge for Human Rights, Joanne Bauer and Daniel Bell, eds.
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From page 528... ...
Paul, James 2000 Ethnicity and the new constitutional orders of Ethiopia and Eriteria. In Ethnicity and Autonomy: Negotiating Competing Claims in Multi-ethnic States, Yash Ghai, ed.
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From page 529... ...
Stavenhagen, Rodolfo 1998 Indigenous peoples: Emerging international actors. In Ethnic Diversity and Public Policy: A Comparative Inquiry, Crawford Young, ed.
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From page 530... ...
In Ethnicity and Autonomy: Negotiating Competing Claims in Multi-ethnic States, Yash Ghai, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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