Governing the Grey Zone: Why Hybrid Regimes in Europe’s Eastern Neighborhood Pursue Partial Governance Reforms
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Every year the European Union, as well as numerous other international organizations, states, and\ntransnational networks wield ample resources to promote democratic governance in the developing\ncountries. However, the impact of these reform promotion efforts varies widely. Many scholars have\nblamed structural conditions, or the inadequate rewards offered by the donors, as the reasons behind\nthe partial impact of external actors. However, such approach portrays recipient governments as\npassive objects of the external influence, and overlooks the fact that domestic actors can, themselves,\nactively subvert or facilitate the reforms. In this dissertation, Ketevan Bolkvadze addresses this gap,\nby departing from the literature on hybrid regimes, and by placing incumbents and their incentives\nstructures at the forefront of the analysis. The three different studies in this thesis zero in on the hybrid\nregimes in Moldova and Georgia, and examine how political fragmentation and incumbent’s timehorizons\nshaped their response to the EU-promoted reforms.\nThe findings from this dissertation show that the external actors are often caught between a rock and a\nhard place. When they provide assistance for reforms in dominant-party hybrid regimes, incumbents\nmight use this to bolster their popular support, while, in parallel, side-lining their opponents. Thus,\ndonor assistance might help them perpetuate their political tenure. By contrast, while in fragmented\nhybrid regimes authoritarian tendencies are not an immediate risk, incumbent politicians often use the\nexisting malfunctioning state institutions – and even donor assistance - for reaping personal monetary\nbenefits. In the first case, donor assistance ends up being used for partisan purposes; in the second\ncase, it risks being used for private ends. Both are troubling outcomes.
Author: Ketevan Bolkvadze
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2775135730