Real and "virtual" elements of power sharing in the post-Soviet space: the case of Gagauzian autonomy

Abstract

'Various efforts to assess the effects of autonomy arrangements on the prospects of achieving stability and democracy in ethnically heterogeneous societies receive a lot of attention both in academic and policy-making communities. This paper argues that the analysis of the actual implementation practices of autonomy settlement agreements should be an integral part of such efforts. Taking implementation practices seriously means going beyond the analysis of grand formal provisions listed in the autonomy's constitutional law or statute, which is usually adopted at the end of the conflict settlement process. The actual implementation process can produce an autonomy regime whose functioning is far from the model autonomy arrangement envisioned in the autonomy's founding documents. Successes and failures in securing stability and democracy then can be better accounted for by studying the effects of these implementation practices rather than by attributing democracy and stability outcomes to formal autonomy provisions.' (author's abstract)