Bounded Agency and State Learning: Evaluating Inter-De Facto Cooperation in the Post-Soviet Space

This article interrogates the independent agency of post-Soviet de facto states by analysing patterns of horizontal cooperation. While the prevailing literature emphasizes near-total reliance on an external patron, this study uses qualitative process tracing to examine political, economic, and administrative interactions among Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and the former Donets'k People's Republic and the Luhans'k People's Republic. The findings demonstrate that these entities engage in institutional learning and "best practice" exchanges to enhance survival and domestic legitimacy. However, this collaboration is characterized by "bounded agency"—a state of initiative restricted by severe resource scarcity, logistical constraints, and structural dependence on the Russian Federation. The research concludes that while inter-de facto cooperation provides a vital platform for diplomatic socialization and symbolic state-building, it remains secondary to the imperatives of the patron-client relationship and the constraints of international non-recognition.