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Between Puppets and Independent Actors: Kin-state Involvement in the Conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Nagorno Karabakh

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17449050701618546

1744-9065

Nina Caspersen,

European Politics and Security

Abstract The conflicts and wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Nagorno Karabakh are commonly viewed as little more than the expression of kin-state involvement. The Serbian regime is usually assigned overwhelming influence over the local Serb leaders, and the formal division between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh is frequently argued to be a smokescreen. However, this article argues that the leaders in Belgrade and Yerevan were not always able to control the local leaders and dictate developments, and their influence varied considerably in different conflict phases. Even though kin-state involvement can play a very important role, and indeed be the decisive factor in a violent conflict, the potentially limited longevity of these ethnonational ties should be acknowledged; they can be weakened even in a situation of extreme insecurity and this impacts on the possibility for reaching a settlement. Acknowledgement Research for this article was supported by grants from Lancaster University's Research Committee and from the Danish Research Agency. An earlier draft was presented at the Association for the Study of Nationalities Conference in Belgrade, 2006. Notes Brubaker terms kin-states external national 'homelands'. See, e.g. Chiva (2006) Chiva, C. 2006. Ethnic minority rights in Central and Eastern Europe: the case of the Hungarian 'Status Law'. Government and Opposition, 41(3): 401–421. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. In February 1991, 38 out of 42 members of the SDS's main board supported Rašković against Babić (Radulović, 1991a Radulović, S. 1991a. Ko režira deobe. Vreme, 25 February: 26–27. [Google Scholar]). See also Danas, 'Milan Babić: Hrvatska nema suverenitet', 26 March 1991, p. 24. Author's interview with Vladimir Lukić, RS prime minister 1993–1994, Banja Luka, 2 December 2003. Author's interview with Nikola Poplašen, founder of the Serb Radicals in Bosnia. Banja Luka, 3 December 2003. Author's interview with Goran Hadžić, Belgrade, 30 October 2003. Author's interview with Filip Švarm, journalist, Vreme, Belgrade, 13 September 2004. For further analysis of kin-state involvement in these two cases, see Caspersen (2007) Caspersen, N. 2007. Belgrade, Pale, Knin: Kin-state control over rebellious puppets?. Europe-Asia Studies, 59(4): 619–639. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation or the Dashnaks is the main organization for Diaspora Armenians. It has maintained an ideological commitment to a united, and hence enlarged, Armenia. Radicalization had gained speed following the anti-Armenian pogrom in Sumgait in February 1988. Author's interview with David Shahnazaryan, former Karabakh negotiator for Armenia, Yerevan, 6 September 2006. Author's interview with Manvel Sarkisian, political analyst, Yerevan, 9 September 2006. Author's interview with Levon Zourabian, former advisor to Ter-Petrosian, Yerevan, 4 September 2006. Author's interview with Manvel Sarkisian, Yerevan, 9 September 2006. Author's interview with Levon Zourabian, Yerevan, 4 September 2006. Data kindly supplied by Levon Zourabian. Author's interview with David Shahnazaryan, Yerevan, 6 September 2006. Author's interview with David Babayan, Stepanakert, 13 September 2006.