The Post-Soviet as Post-Colonial: A New Paradigm for Understanding Constitutional Dynamics in the Former Soviet Empire

William Partlett & Herbert Küpper

University of Melbourne & Research Centre for Eastern and South Eastern Europe

William Partlett and Herbert Küpper discuss their new co-authored book, which examines constitutional dynamics in the former Soviet empire through a post-colonial lens 

Tell us a little bit about the book

Our book applies a post-colonial lens to constitutional law in the countries of the former Soviet empire. This includes the former imperial centre (Russia), the former Soviet republics (the ‘inner empire’), and the ex-satellites in central and eastern Europe (the ‘outer empire’). Until now, post-socialist constitutional development in this region has been interpreted largely through the post-authoritarian lens. 

A post-colonial frame shows that constitutions in the region were squarely focused on state-building tasks, including the construction of effective political control of territory and a post-colonial national identity. This post-colonial process has led to authoritarianism in some contexts (central Asia in particular) and democracy in others (the Baltic states). In Russia, post-coloniality has manifested as post-imperialism. This post-colonial frame reminds us that the end of the Cold War was not the end of history. On the contrary, it ushered in a new period of identity construction and state-building for the countries liberated from Soviet domination. 

What inspired you to take up this project? 

Our inspiration was a dinner talk after an inspiring conference hosted by Nagoya University’s Centre of Asian Legal Exchange (CALE). After a discussion of the ‘isms’ that define the post-Soviet region, we discovered that we both thought that post-colonialism is a neglected way to understand the ex-Soviet world. We initially began writing a joint article on this under-explored subject, but we soon found that our thoughts were enough to be a book rather than a journal article.

Whose work was influential on you throughout the project?

Specifically, the book has few direct influences because it seeks to fill a gap in the literature. Until now, post-colonial theories of law and constitutionalism have never been applied systematically to the ex-socialist world. More generally, however, the book built on the work of scholars like David Chioni Moore who have discussed the post-Soviet region as post-colonial. The book also built on the work of Upendra Baxi, Harshan Kumarasingham, Cheryl Saunders, and Philipp Dann, who have pioneered the study of post-colonial constitutional law. 

What challenges did you face in writing the book? 

A key practical challenge was this was a pandemic book so with one of us in Australia and the other in Germany, we were unable to speak about it in person. In fact, since starting (and finishing) the book, we have not had a chance to meet in person!

The principal conceptual challenge was to relate two academic subjects which so far have not been related: post-colonial theory of constitutionalism on the one hand and post-socialist constitutional change. We both are experts on the post-Soviet law in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and post-colonial theory was new for us.

Another logistical challenge was the extent of the material we analyse. The constitutional developments of the last 30 years across 22 states categorised in three analytical groups provides material that is impossible to fully bring together in one book. In many cases, all we could do is bring out examples of post-colonial legacies. Some country case studies allow us to go into more detail, but in general, we probably provide more questions than answers. Which is just as well for a book like this. We generally hope this book inspires future research.

What do you hope to see as the book’s contribution to academic discourse and constitutional or public law more broadly?

Our hope is that we can add a new understanding of the drivers of constitutional development in the ex-socialist world. The post-colonial lens that we apply does not seek to replace the post-authoritarian lens. But the post-colonial lens adds important insights where the post-authoritarian lens has blind spots, thus making the picture more complete. 

More broadly, we also hope that this book will also make a modest contribution to the field of post-colonial constitutional studies. For example, it introduces a new set of examples for this field to study. Furthermore, the book begins to attempt to understand the impact of post-coloniality on the former imperial centre (and not just the former colonies). Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is just one example of the dangers of post-imperial nostalgia and identity. 

What’s next?

As we said, our book is a first attempt that leaves many details still to be explored. We hope that it triggers more research on post-colonial structures in constitutional development and, eventually, the legal systems of the states that once formed the Soviet bloc. We also hope that by adding new case studies to the post-colonial world, we have expanded the scope of post-colonial constitutional studies.

As for Will Partlett, in his future work he plans to expand the book’s discussion of the role of historical memory in constitutional law by exploring the insights that the critical study of how history is written (historiography) carries for constitutional law. 

As for Herbert Küpper, his plans include to explore more deeply the details of the administrative law of the post-socialist world. There is ample comparative research on the constitutional law of the region, but little is known about its administrative law.

Future collaboration between Partlett and Kupper might question the common – but problematic – association in much of the former Soviet region between a strongman leader and a strong, effective state. 

William Partlett is Associate Professor of Law at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Australia

Herbert Küpper is Managing Director of the Institute for East European Law at the Research Centre for Eastern and South Eastern Europe, Regensburg, Germany

The Post-Soviet as Post-Colonial is available from Edward Elgar Publishing. For a 35% discount enter the code ‘PART35’ at checkout.

Suggested Citation: William Partlett and Herbert Küpper, ‘Author Interview: The Post-Soviet as Post-Colonial’ IACL-AIDC Blog (30 June 2022) https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/just-published/2022/6/30/the-post-soviet-as-post-colonial-a-new-paradigm-for-understanding-constitutional-dynamics-in-the-former-soviet-empire.