Between freedom and lawlessness PGMs and state relations: An analysis of the Ukrainian volunteer battalions
Abstract
The volunteer battalions that emerged in Ukraine in the post-Maidan period, have
been accentuated as a case of strong pro-government militias (PGMs) with
capabilities to evolve into state parallel formations. However, with the
incorporation of most remaining volunteer battalions into the regular security
forces, a new phase has developed. This thesis seeks to contribute to a better
understanding of the relations between states and PGMs, applied to the case of the
Ukrainian volunteer battalions. More specifically, it asks if and how strong PGMs
can represent a threat to the state, and if their incorporation into the regular state
structures, can contribute to more or less stability. Based on a critical review of
the existing PGM literature, and Max Weber’s ideal of state monopoly on
legitimate violence, it puts forward the claim that the volunteer battalions did
represent a threat to the state’s legitimacy and effective execution of power in the
early period of the conflict, due to their loose control and independent power base.
It argues that the potential risks today are less imminent and more veiled; leaving
unanswered questions about the effectiveness of the government’s incorporation
strategy, as well as the nature of the ties between former volunteer battalions and
certain civil organizations. The thesis calls for more research on the topic, which
can contribute to insights into scenarios that may materialize when the armed
conflict moves towards an end, and the interests of the state and the former PGMs,
potentially cease to overlap.
Description
Executive Master of Management i Sikkerhetsledelse og kulturforståelse fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 2018