FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07/28/05
CONTACT: Cara Santos Pianesi, 202/939-2211, csantos@CarnegieEndowment.org
A new study by Matthew J. Spence shows the success that the United States and other actors can have in affecting political and economic reforms abroad—but only if domestic conditions are ripe in the target country and external actors are subtle enough to catalyze domestic energy for change. Spence uses the example of criminal justice reform in Russia to illustrate this point in his new Carnegie Paper, The Complexity of Success: the U.S. Role in Russian Rule of Law Reform, available here.
In the 1990s, the United States sought to promote the rule of law in many parts of the former Soviet Union and beyond, often with little success. Yet in 2001, Russia adopted a liberal new Criminal Procedure Code and introduced jury trials after nearly a decade of U.S. rule-of-law assistance that supported precisely these steps. How did U.S. policy contribute to this reform? Why did these reforms succeed while others failed?
Spence argues that Western assistance should focus on catalyzing domestic reform, a strategy that has received little attention to date. Reform can be successful when two conditions are present: first, a policy entrepreneur favoring reform gains enough power to try new approaches; and second, plans to implement reforms are already being considered and the challenge is moving them forward.
In Russia, reform came from an unexpected source: President Putin was initially a legal reformer and his centralization of power opened up a political window to pass controversial changes in the criminal justice system. Duma Deputy Elena Mizulina, considered by U.S. advisors to be progressive and personally invested in criminal justice reform, chaired Putin’s Working Group on the Criminal Procedure Code and pushed through this change.
The U.S. role was delicate: at the right moment, Western efforts boosted Russia’s own policy-making process by providing infrastructure support and assistance in drafting legislation. This lowered the costs of reform while still allowing Russian politicians to claim credit. Spence underlines that this was only possible because U.S. advisors had built close relationships over time with key Russian decision makers. He emphasizes this sophisticated understanding of local decision-making structures is integral to success in catalyzing reform.
Matthew J. Spence is a director of the Truman National Security Project and Associate World Fellow at Yale University.
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Direct Link to PDF File: http://carnegieendowment.org/files/CP60.spence.FINAL.pdf
About the Democracy and Rule of Law program: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/programs/global/index.cfm?fa=proj&id=101&proj=zdrl