Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Chechnya: Violence and autonomy in Eurasia's secessionist conflicts

This analysis explores the relationship between periods of violent conflict and levels of autonomy in the post-Soviet secessionist republics of Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and Chechnya. The analysis engages in a chronological discussion of the development of each nationalist secessionist movement through pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet eras, including a chronological survey of the Karabakh conflict (1988-1994), the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict (1992-1994) and the first Russo-Chechen conflict (1994-1996). Using a model of statehood based on the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, this analysis qualitatively explores the impact of violent conflict on the characteristics of statehood in the secessionist territories. Looking at issues of population, territory, government and international relations, this thesis argues that periods of violent conflict accelerate the seizure and entrenchment of autonomous rights in the pursuit of statehood in each case.;Keywords. Nagorno-Karabakh; Abkhazia; Chechnya; Eurasia; nationalism; secessionist movements; autonomy; 1994 Russo-Chechen war; Georgian-Abkhaz conflict; Karabakh conflict; post-Soviet conflicts; Soviet Union...