From Democracy to Disorder? Comparative Analysis of Governance Strategies in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia (North Caucasus)

Introduction to the problem

The actual situation in the North Caucasus is characterized by a high diversity of social, economic and cultural forms of development and modes of governance in different regions. Each of the nine North Caucasian regions have now their own development trends, sets of problems, levels of violence, etc. Two separate models of development and achieving of non-violent conflict processing constitute Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. These two neighbouring regions are selected for a paired comparison of similar socio-economic, geographic and ethnic features but different strategies of conflict development: a relatively successful record of defusing the tensions that arose in the early 1990s in Kabardino-Balkaria, compared with a potentially dangerous escalation of conflict (especially in 1999-2003) in Karachay-Cherkessia. In Kabardino-Balkaria social life is strongly regulated by state. There is the censorship of media, weak democratic institutions and no land privatization. In Karachay-Cherkessia, in contrast, there is a high level of tension, conflicts between different parties and strategic groups, privatization of land, and open criticism of the regional authorities.

General research questions and working hypothesis

In general the research will address the following questions: what benefits have liberal modes of governance brought for Karachay-Cherkessia? Is the centralisation of power as a mode of governance in Kabardino-Balkaria stable in the long-term?

The main working hypothesis is that the short-term stability in Kabardino-Balkaria which is based on formal institutions and centralised forms of governance leads to economic and social stagnation and, as a consequence, to polarization of different strategic groups and to growing  of tension. The violent events of 13-14 October 2005 in Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkaria) have shown that the critical social contradictions did not remain dormant. The occurred violence was a result of defects of the governance strategy accompanied by centralisation of power, weak democracy, censorship of the media, etc. In contrast, the pluralistic and the more democratic environment of Karachay-Cherkessia with a significant role of hybrid institutions (state-traditional, formal-informal) is risky but more adequate to a multiethnic region on the way to the long-term stability.

Methodology

The usual answer to the question “Why Kabardino-Balkaria is peaceful and Karachay-Cherkessia is not?” is in the difference of structural conditions of these regions, and only deep studying of social, economic, geographic, ethnographic, etc. features of region could give an exhaustive explanation. Another methodological approach is used by author – a study of institutional mechanisms can shed light on intricate collision in the modern policy of region. So, for methodology an institutional approach will be used[1]. The interface between sociology, geography and political science and the key unit of analysis is the institutional framework of the regions chosen. Institutional framework means the hybrid combination of institutions that derive from the official Soviet institution (the Soviet legacy), from unofficial institutions that emerged as a reaction to the organizational deficits of the Soviet system (such as a black market economy or networks of patronage) and from “traditional” institutions that have survived the Soviet system.

Focusing on the institutional framework allows us to catch and to understand the incentive structures of different development trajectories. It allows us to understand the micro politics of local development impulses and to place it in the wider context of a successful or failed state building. The analysis considers formal and informal central (state level) and local (village level) institutions that facilitate cooperation and hinder violent conflict.

Defining of research questions and planed activities

This project is devoted to a comparative analysis of governance strategies in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia insofar as they impact upon the preservation of stability and economic and social development. Two social spheres are chosen as test areas: local governance and institutions of land use. They are characterized by different roles of the governance strategies in terms of different impact on conflicts and development The conducted investigation has shown that a local level is a good indicator of important processes in the whole region. The research questions defined and specified for the field work are: what is important for long-term stability - land privatization (Karachay-Cherkessia) or keeping land by state (Kabardino-Balkaria), centralised methods of governance based on formal (state) institutions only (Kabardino-Balkaria) or institutional diversity on the local level consisting of formal and informal (traditional) institutions (Karachay-Cherkessia)?

A comparative analysis of land use by different ethnic groups will be carried out based on data obtained from fieldwork in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Within this context the privatization of the land and new resettlement processes will be explained. An analysis of local governance will be conducted using the example of several villages in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia including cases with heterogeneous ethnic populations and situated in transition areas where two or more ethnic groups border one another.

Characteristics of the titular ethnic groups in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia

The project relies on the multidisciplinary methods, combining social geography and social anthropology and focusing on study of subtle factors of modern development differences in the regions chosen. During the field work several types of interview will be taken: from micro- or the situational interviews to the biographic interviews. Taking into account the multi-ethnical structure of regions the spatial analysis of the settling and land use system in both regions will be made. Different social and ethnic dates will be taken from household books (pokhosyaystvennye knigi) directly in the villages chosen for detailed investigations.

Evaluation and Dissemination

The results of the project will be used both in Karachay-Cherkessia and in Kabardino-Balkaria during surveys and investigations made with cooperation with Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Centre (Nalchik) and Karachay Research Institute (Cherkessk), as well as during the elaboration of development strategies in both regions.

There are three main target audiences in the case-study’s regions: 1) local authorities and local informal leaders, 2) regional (republic) authorities and regional elite, 3) federal power structures. This division is corresponded with Russian’s statehood features, in the first line – a federal system and existing traditional institutions, which play quite an important role on the local level. Every level needs its own recommendations. These will be worked out and represented in the policy papers.

In the project two policy papers will be prepared. The first one will be devoted to the regional government and local authorities. In the light of reforms of local municipality and land use carried out recently in Russia the positive experiences of this policy will be emphasized. Main stakeholders are: members of regional governance and parliament, heads of village administration, civil and scientific activists in both republics.

The second policy paper will be addressed to federal authorities, especially to the administration of the South Federal District (Rostov City), and also to civic and scientific organization on different levels. The policy paper will give more general recommendations in the area of regional and national policy in the Northern Caucasus. In particular, the dominance of the state under civil society as an only governance strategy in the North Caucasus will be revalued. During the project several articles will be published in national and regional magazines.

Possible cooperation with OSI programs

According to the methodology and the project goals the cooperation with the OSI program “Local Government & Public Service Reform Initiative” is desirable.

Project Timeline and Initial Work and Advocacy Plan