Yielding to the sons of the soil: Abkhazian democracy and the marginalization of the Armenian vote

Abstract

Among the post-Soviet de facto states, Abkhazia is unique in that the secessionists pursued self-determination in the name of a minority group. Today the ethnic Abkhaz enjoy a virtual monopoly on political power. Simultaneously, Abkhazia has developed a reasonably democratic political system. How has it been possible for the ethnic Abkhaz to monopolize power within a political system that exhibits most of the trappings of democratic rule? We discuss four alternative theories of ethnic marginalization to explain why the Armenians, the largest minority community in Abkhazia, have abstained from translating numerical strength into political influence. We argue that it is essential to examine sentiments and behaviour not only among the dominant group, but just as much among the marginalized group. Particularly relevant is the pervasive perception that rights in and ‘ownership’ of a territory are linked to ‘rootedness’.

Keywords:

• Abkhazia
• Armenian minority
• control
• ethnic democracy
• minority rights
• economic opportunities

Notes

1. De facto states are state-like entities that lack – or enjoy only partial – international recognition (Pegg 1998).

2. The name ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ does not refer to any ethnic group, but there was never any doubt that the autonomous oblast was established as a homeland for ethnic Armenians.

3. From the official website: http://www.apsny.ru/ethnic/ethnic.php? The authorities and institutions of Abkhazia are all considered ‘de facto’ due to the lack of universal international recognition. That we have not repeated the qualifier ‘de facto’ each time in referring to these entities should not be construed as indicating a stance in the secessionist conflict.

4. A similar requirement in the Turkmenistani constitution was abolished in 2008.

5. According to the 2005 law on citizenship, dual citizenship is allowed only with Russia.

6. The use of toponyms in contemporary Abkhazia is politicized. Here we employ the forms most commonly used in English – e.g. Sukhumi, not Sokhumi or Sukhum.

7. The article draws on fieldwork in Abkhazia in September 2006 and September 2010 and on interviews with politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and NGO activists.

8. This concept should not be confused with ‘ethnocracy’, which refers to a ‘control’-like regime.

9. Major objections are summarized and discussed in Smooha 2005a, pp. 34–41.

10. Hamshen, the variety of Western Armenian spoken in the part of Anatolia from which the Abkhazian Armenians hail, is strongly influenced by Turkish. The Hamshen spoken in Abkhazia, however, also differs considerably from this dialect. Having lived for more than a century in Russia/the Soviet Union, Abkhazian Armenians have picked up many Russian phrases and idioms.

11. This situation is not unique to the Armenian schools (authors' interview with Dalila Piliya, Assistant Professor, Abkhazian State University, Sukhumi, September 2010).

12. Authors' interview with Suren Kerselyan, head of the Sukhumi branch of the Armenian Community, September 2006.

13. Authors' interview with Galust Trapizonyan, co-chair of the Armenian Community, Sukhumi, September 2006.

14. Under Kazaryan's leadership, the Armenian Community came out in support of Bagapsh in the 2009 presidential elections, promising him the Armenian vote (Gasparyan 2009).

15. At the congress, the organization was renamed the Union of Armenians of Abkhazia.

16. Authors' interview, Sukhumi, September 2010.

17. The account below basically follows Amshentsi 2002.

18. This was confirmed in the authors' interview with Natella Akaba, Secretary of the Public Chamber of Abkhazia, Sukhumi, September 2010.

19. For an early forceful statement of this position, see Schermerhorn 1970.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pål Kolstø

PÅL KOLSTØ is Professor at Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages at the University of Oslo.

Helge Blakkisrud

HELGE BLAKKISRUD is Head of Department of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.