Exclavity under globalization. Selected works

Table 1

Assessment of advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and threats in the elaboration of exclaves’ development strategy

* The first figure is opportunities/threats indicated in the side vertical columns; the second figure is advantages/disadvantages indicated in the upper horizontal columns.

Exclavity under globalization

Regionalization, i.e. strengthening of regionalism, is of special significance for exclaves due to specific conditions of their development. On the one hand, regionalization is an objective process of the functioning of a more sophisticated social, economic and political system. On the other hand, it is an attempt to resolve the contradictions of the globalization process. The global multipolar system tries to attain internal equilibrium by entrusting the inferior systems to settle the difficulties. The global economy becomes more regionalized. Furthermore, regionalization exists both at the supranational and subnational levels. It is no accident that the slogan “Europe of the regions” is popular in the EU, as its realization may mitigate contradictions accumulating within the EU economic space without bringing them to a more global level. Euroregions create their own economic and social space within the common European space.

The increase in the subnational regions’ importance signifies their transformation from controlled object-regions into subjectregions capable of self-organization and self-development. Consequently, the understanding of regionalism alters. From a simple consideration of domestic conditions within the rational territorial labour management and acknowledging the fact that there are regions with significant nature, economic, social and cultural differences through the regional policy of the state’s central authorities, it transforms into the purposeful policy conducted by the regions themselves. Regionalism, aimed at practical use of the opportunities brought about by the natural territorial division of modern societies, creates conditions for the efficient distribution of the authoritative competence between the centre and the regions.

While increasing the regions’ independence and the scope of their activities, the subnational level of the regionalization creates prerequisites for the development of the exclaves’ relations with the neighbouring countries and facilitates a more effective crossborder cooperation. This creates an opportunity to settle all the issues connected with the exclave position.

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The problem of exclaves under globalization

Since exclaves appear as knots of numerous interlinked conflicting interests, both domestic and foreign ones, they inevitably become territories prone to conflict. Exclaves’ separated location and the fact that they are entirely or partially surrounded by foreign countries stipulate an increasingly high rate of potential conflicts. A clash of interests may occur owing to numerous reasons; such as the access to the exclave, its national belongingness. In addition, exclaves may pose a threat to the neighbouring countries (as possible military outposts, or facilitating drugs and weapons trafficking, illegal migration, etc.).

A conflict is an utmost form of acute contradictions between groups of different interests. The objects of international conflicts are, first of all, the territories where the conflicting interests of several actors (international and domestic) intermingle and exclaves represent the knots of such interlinked interests.

The realization of different actors’ interests leads to a conflict. The object of the conflict is a basic contradiction and the subjects come into opposition for the settlement of this contradiction. The basic contradiction of exclaves is a restricted access to their territories (for the country the exclave belongs to) and the issue of ensuring the sovereign rights of the states, e.g. providing transit. However, there are other contradictions (interethnic, religious, social, ecological, etc.), that may become reasons for conflicts given certain conditions.

According to M. Lebedeva, a comparative analysis of conflicts and conflict situations presupposes revelation of structural and procedure factors (independent and dependent variables) which determine the opportunities to influence the development of a conflict. These factors are studied at the three levels of analysis: at the individual, state and global levels.

With reference to the conflicting situations of exclaves, structural factors play a decisive role, but when it concerns the settlement of conflicts, procedure factors’ importance is increasing.

The global level has to do with the aspects of international law regarding exclaves (particularly, the aspects that oblige the third

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Exclavity under globalization

countries to ensure the communication of exclaves with their mother country).

The state level deals with international treaties and agreements securing the exclave’s viability and development, supported by the state.

The individual level involves observance of human rights for the freedom of movement and reimbursement for the travel expenses to/from exclaves.

International political climate plays a significant role at the global level.

Policies pursued both by the mother country of the exclave and by the neighbouring countries are of great importance at the state level.

At the individual level, personal qualities of politicians who settle particular issues and the population’s willingness to protect their interests appear to be vitally important.

Moreover, from the author’s point of view, there is a need to introduce a new, regional level of analysis (at least, when studying exclaves). This perfectly complies with modern scientific approaches to the assessment and evaluation of the formation of the new world’s political structure, which is characterized by:

1)enlargement and intensification of the globalization process;

2)a growing number of different actors at the world arena, including, in addition to the states, regions, non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations and intergovernmental organizations.

Structural factors of the regional development include interregional organizations (for example, Euroregions, widespread in Europe) as well as the legitimate relations between interregional bodies and the national authorities.

Procedure factors of the regional level include the extent of the exclave’s participation in the interregional cooperation. The procedure factors concerning the relations with the national authorities include particular rights ensured according to the legitimate relations.

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The problem of exclaves under globalization

To contribute to the exclaves’ development it is necessary to include them into the globalization process. Otherwise, the development of the autarchy will be inevitable; this, in its turn, will result in economic decline and a rise in social discontent. If an exclave becomes a centre of the development of cooperation between two or more regions which are in the focus of globalization, it can be stated that, on the whole, globalization creates more favourable conditions for the exclaves’ viability than it was earlier.

To ensure the exclaves’ sustainable development it is necessary to provide purposeful management of their political, economic and social development. The exclaves’ development strategy should be based on the equilibrium of interests that intertwine within the exclave territories. In addition to the settlement of social and economic issues of the exclaves’ viability, the strategy should provide for the prevention and management of conflicts arising from their special location.

On the whole, international experience proves that an exclave may exist and develop under the following conditions:

1.The mother country should acknowledge the region’s specific position, which requires a special legislation to provide for a specific form of governance. On the one hand, the region limits its claims to the national government to the issues of ensuring the necessary conditions for economic activity, excluding its claims for granting the autonomy status or separation.

2.The mother country should provide real support to the region; define clearly the distribution of functions between the national government and the regional authorities, securing a balance between the regional and national interests.

3.The mother country should guarantee the independence of the regional authorities in making administrative decisions within the social and economic spheres and in the sphere of local selfgovernance.

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Exclavity under globalization

4.It is necessary to establish appropriate relations with the neighbouring countries and close economic and cultural ties with their population.

5.Open economy and active participation in international division of labour is one of the prerequisites.

6.Development of the regional cross-border and cultural cooperation is of vital importance.

For successful settlement of the problem of exclaves there is a need, probably more urgent for exclaves than for inner regions, to establish a favourable balance between centralization and decentralization of the national governance.

Despite the fact that the majority of modern countries are unitary (and in theory – centralized), many of them exercise various decentralization patterns in their structure and governance (devolution in Great Britain, autonomies in Spain, deconcentration in France, etc.). Decentralization in federative states is essential, “in

order two levels of governance could exercise their powers over one and the same territory and one and the same population”.1 However, the existence of the federative state system does not guarantee actual decentralization of power: for example, in the 1970s in Pakistan, Venezuela, Argentina under the conditions of undemocratic governance, decentralization was sacrificed for the autocratic regime.

Nevertheless, both decentralization and an increased role of the regions in the settlement of local political, social and economic problems do not contribute to the successful establishing of sus-

tainable federative democracy2. The experience of the Russian

1Riker W.H. Federalism: Origin, Operation, Significance. Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1964. P. 11.

2According to W. Riker, American politologist, only a small number of special interests groups benefited substantially from federalism in the majority of the federations. For more details see: Riker W.H. Federalism: Origin, Operation, Significance. Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1964. P. 139—145.

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The problem of exclaves under globalization

Federation testifies to this fact as well; modern history saw peculiar decentralization and centralization cycles3 which brought about ambiguous consequences for the country’s development.

The present state and prospects of the Russian enclave in the Baltic Sea region: political, social,

economic and international aspects

The territory of the present Kaliningrad region during a long historic period has been characterized by the features typical of an exclave. During the centuries it has witnessed acute political crises, including those resulting in wars. The author insists that the current conflict is a part of the conflict which started when the region turned into an exclave.

The object of the conflict is exercising control over the Kaliningrad region. Both the region’s favourable geographic position and its transformation into an enclave within the EU and NATO in 2004 contribute to the utmost timeliness of the research of the conflict.

Special attention paid to the region by politicians and government officials (Russian, European and American ones), as well as by the academic community and a wide range of public organizations proves the existence of the conflict which has been developing since the 1990s. All the actors concerned with the situation in and around the region acknowledge the existence of the conflict situation. Intense discussion of the Kaliningrad problem shows the participants’ desire to continue the disputes in order to attain their objectives. The basic contradictions (conflicts) and actors participating in them are represented in tables 2 and 3.

3 See for example: Petrov N. Razdelennij suverenitet po-rossijski: vzaimootnoshenija Moskvy I regionov // Praktika federalizma. Poiski alternative dlja Gruzii I Abhazii/Obsh. Redakcija B. Koppiters, D. Darchiashvili, N. Akaba. M.:Ves Mir, 1999. S. 160.

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Exclavity under globalization

The object of the conflict is the territory of the region where the Baltic Sea States’ interests intermingle (Russia, on the one hand, and Germany, Poland, Lithuania on the other hand). The EU and the CIS have their own interests as well (especially the Union of Russia and Belarus). The interests of the multinational corporations are yet not clearly defined, but LUKOIL, RAO UES, jointstock company “Gazprom”, JSC “Russian Railways” have already become the actors pursuing their own ends. There are certain contradictions between the Federation’s interests and those of the region; the prolonged discussion of the law on granting the region a status of the special economic zone and the attempts to adjust the Special Federal Programme of the Development of the Kaliningrad region for the period up to 2010 serve as an indication of a growing opposition.

The main political reason for the conflict worsening is NATO and the EU enlargement to the east which transformed the region into a completely isolated territory.

The region’s isolated location implies extra costs to provide for the region’s viability. The regime of the SEZ functions as a compensatory mechanism. However, sometimes it is not the expenses of the economic entities and the region’s population that are compensated for. This is how the contradictions emerge and cause the conflicts within the region.

Table 4

The basic intraregional contradictions (conflicts) related to the functioning of the SEZ in the Kaliningrad region

There is a number of external conflicts connected with the SEZ as well (table 5).

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