- Alena Ledeneva is an internationally renowned expert on informal governance, corruption, informal economy, economic c... moreAlena Ledeneva is an internationally renowned expert on informal governance, corruption, informal economy, economic crime, informal practices in corporate governance, and role of networks and patron-client relationships in Russia and around the globe. Her books Russia's Economy of Favours: Blat, Networking, and Informal Exchange (Cambridge University Press, 1998), How Russia Really Works: Informal Practices in the 1990s (Cornell University Press, 2006), and Can Russia Modernize? Sistema, Power Networks and Informal Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2013) have become must-read sources in Russian studies and social sciences. She received her PhD in Social and Political Theory from Cambridge University (1996) and joined the UCL in 1999. She was a pillar leader of the largest EC funded research project ANTICORRP.eu (2012-2017), a Co-PI of the INFORM project in West Balkans (2016-2019) and many others. She is a founder of the UCL FRINGE Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Complexity and the Global Informality Project (in-formality.com). She is editor-in-chief of the Global Encyclopedia of Informality (UCL Press, 2018) and co-editor of the FRINGE series at the UCL Press.edit
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more information about the MSCA MARKETS project: https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Early_stage_researcher_opportunity_at_UCL_SSEES
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More information on the MSCA MARKETS project:
https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Early_stage_researcher_opportunity_at_UCL_SSEES
https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Early_stage_researcher_opportunity_at_UCL_SSEES
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Just opened: 2 funded PhD positions to join MARKETS at UCL SSEES
The news is on the Related projects page now: https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Related_Projects
The news is on the Related projects page now: https://www.in-formality.com/wiki/index.php?title=Related_Projects
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let us get together in the times of trouble!
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Update on the progress of the third volume, academic visitors and new projects.
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Learn about Global Encyclopaedia of Informality launch events and the latest figures of downloads. Do consider contributing material towards the third volume!
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It's 2019. It's been 5 years since the official start of the project and we have summed up outcomes. Some sad news as well. If you are reading this while planning to travel, do check our website www.in-formality.com for the country of... more
It's 2019. It's been 5 years since the official start of the project and we have summed up outcomes. Some sad news as well.
If you are reading this while planning to travel, do check our website www.in-formality.com for the country of your destination - you will discover some open secrets and unwritten rules!
If you are reading this while planning to travel, do check our website www.in-formality.com for the country of your destination - you will discover some open secrets and unwritten rules!
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We continue to disseminate our findings and think about the prospect of Volume 3.
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Check out our new website and help build Teaching Informality portal
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The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality is out in paper and online. It is available in open access for a free download at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i... more
The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality is out in paper and online. It is available in open access for a free download at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopaedia-of-informality-ii Congratulations to all of us!
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The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality is out in paper and online. It is available in open access. Free download of Volume 1 and 2 is at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i... more
The Global Encyclopaedia of Informality is out in paper and online. It is available in open access. Free download of Volume 1 and 2 is at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopaedia-of-informality-ii
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopaedia-of-informality-ii
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Publication details
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Timetable for Global Encyclopaedia of Informality production process
A quick update: As some of you know, we have been struggling with the technical side of the manuscript: illustrations, captions, copyright, tables and diagrams had to be submitted as separate files and in the right format, and listed... more
A quick update: As some of you know, we have been struggling with the technical side of the manuscript: illustrations, captions, copyright, tables and diagrams had to be submitted as separate files and in the right format, and listed throughout. Costanza has done her best on this and now the manuscript is back with the publishers. Unfortunate as it is, because of the publishers' rules, we have had to cut out many pictures and graphs. We are very grateful to those of you who provided images and copyright for their use, and we will make sure that they duly appear on our website. We will let you know once we have a clearer time-line for copy-editing.
We are very grateful to those of you who provided images and copyright for their use, and we will make sure that they duly appear on our website. We will let you know once we have a clearer time-line for copy-editing.
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Dear Authors, I am writing with an update on the progress of the Global Informality Project.
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Update and information on submission of the Encyclopaedia to the UCL Press
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I am writing with an update on the progress of the Global Informality project. Number of entries: Under the leadership of Sheelagh Barron, who took over from Anna Bailey in June, the editorial team has made terrific progress and we are... more
I am writing with an update on the progress of the Global Informality project. Number of entries: Under the leadership of Sheelagh Barron, who took over from Anna Bailey in June, the editorial team has made terrific progress and we are happy to report 163 completed and fully edited entries. We expect to be able to reach 200 entries in 2017. Online version: Since June 2016, the development of the online version has been undertaken by UCL Digital Humanities interns Yang Liu and Adriana Bastarrachea Santez, to whom we are most grateful for updating and upgrading the database, and making it searchable. They have run into a number of technical difficulties with the sheer volume of tagging required for the entries. Yet we are still firmly on course to launch the online version of the Encyclopaedia in 2017, simultaneously with the publication of the print version, in order to maximise impact. The website will organize entries alphabetically and have an option for authors to add keywords. Publication: In compliance with the UCL University Press contract, we will be submitting the first volume of our Encyclopaedia on the 1 st of October. Once submitted, it will be sent to reviewers. Subject to positive reviews, the publication will take place in 2017. We aim to assemble 60 colourful images for the print volume and are grateful to our Web Wizard Anastasia Shekshnya, who has taken the lead on assembling the images in a variety of formats for both the print version and the website. Anastasia has also managed to secure copyright permission to use an image by Pavel Filonov for the cover of the book.
I am delighted to inform you of the progress of the Global Informality project. Number of entries: The editorial team has made terrific progress and we are happy to report 121 completed and fully edited entries...
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For the attention of present and future contributors and authors:
Please find an update on the progress of the project
Please find an update on the progress of the project
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Open secrets, unwritten rules and hidden practices from five continents!
Free to download at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i
Free to download at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/global-encyclopedia-of-informality-i
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Details of the project are on the UCL website:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/research/funded-research-projects/informal-practices
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ssees/research/funded-research-projects/informal-practices
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Please think of an entry, check with us that it has not been yet commissioned, suggest your own deadline, and send you entry back to us with two images (with copyright). Our team will be able to help.
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Think of your own or ask to be assigned an entry, we have a pool of concepts that need to be written up
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Research Interests: Ambivalence and EUROS
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In her new monograph Can Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks and Informal Governance, Alena Ledeneva seeks to decode and reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin’s system of governance – referred to as... more
In her new monograph Can Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks and Informal Governance, Alena Ledeneva seeks to decode and reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin’s system of governance – referred to as Putin’s sistema – she identifies four key types of networks: his inner circle, useful friends, core contacts and mediated connections. These networks serve sistema but also serve themselves. Reliance on networks enables leaders to mobilise and to control, yet they also lock them into informal deals, mediated interests and personalised loyalties. Ledeneva’s perspective on informal power is based on in-depth interviews with sistema insiders and enhanced by evidence of its workings brought to light in court cases, enabling her to draw broad conclusions about the prospects for Russia’s political institutions. The book is available from Cambridge University Press from February 2013.
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In this original, bottom-up account of the evolution of contemporary Russia, Alena Ledeneva seeks to reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin's system of governance - referred to as sistema - she identifies... more
In this original, bottom-up account of the evolution of contemporary Russia, Alena Ledeneva seeks to reveal how informal power operates. Concentrating on Vladimir Putin's system of governance - referred to as sistema - she identifies four key types of networks: his inner circle, useful friends, core contacts and more diffuse ties and connections. These networks serve sistema but also serve themselves. Reliance on networks enables leaders to mobilise and to control, yet they also lock politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen into informal deals, mediated interests and personalised loyalty. This is the 'modernisation trap of informality': one cannot use the potential of informal networks without triggering their negative long-term consequences for institutional development. Ledeneva's perspective on informal power is based on in-depth interviews with sistema insiders and enhanced by evidence of its workings brought to light in court cases, enabling her to draw broad co...
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Given the importance of informal ways of getting things done in the post-Soviet transition and more globally, research into the field of informality has been slow to develop. Some of the reasons are of pragmatic nature. In studying... more
Given the importance of informal ways of getting things done in the post-Soviet transition and more globally, research into the field of informality has been slow to develop. Some of the reasons are of pragmatic nature. In studying informal institutions, networks and practices, the researcher often encounters methodological challenges, pressures to work cross discipline as well as unwelcoming attitudes of respondents. But there are also conceptual puzzles of integrating the informal dimension into disciplinary research, as well as moral resistance to find out inconvenient facts about the functionality of grey areas for politics, economy and society. In certain contexts, it is wrong to assume that the formal rules are universally applied, clear, enforceable, and fundamentally beneficial and that the informal way of getting things done are always detrimental. This chapter offers some nuanced solutions by introducing a distinction between concepts of informal and in-formal and by emphasizing the distinction between perspectives on rules and perspectives on players` strategies.
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This article investigates informal networks of entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe. Informal networks are defined as based on trust relationships and used for seeking competitive advantage in business. We assess the costs of informal... more
This article investigates informal networks of entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe. Informal networks are defined as based on trust relationships and used for seeking competitive advantage in business. We assess the costs of informal networks, including their non-monetary and monetary components, on the basis of in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized business in the region. The evidence points to an ambivalence towards informal networks, perceived to be both affective and instrumental, and the prevalence of double standards. Informal networks are welcome when they help but resented when they help others, thus reproducing the pressure of maintaining informal networks. ONE OF OUR RESPONDENTS, AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO TRAINED in the United States and returned to Croatia to set up a business, summed up his perception of the prominence, size and costs of informal networks as follows: I was educated in the US, so when I came back here and tried to do everything by the book, I did not fully understand informal networking and did not accept this environment, let's call it the 'Balkan mentality'. Several years ago, I came to realise how our system functioned and … [I] started socialising and networking more to find my own people … I could not progress without them. There are between 20 and 25 people in my network, and I stay in close, relatively intensive contact with them. …. I see them twice a month and I have written down some important details about these people-what they like, prefer to do, and so on. … In the beginning, it was a burden to me. But since I noticed the benefits it brought me, it stopped [being a burden]. I became convinced that the more you give, the more you get back. However, it is not just cost-benefitbased exchange; the relationship works based on principle of solidarity as well, because even if
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Informal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt... more
Informal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt conductlargely related to research on emerging markets. To date, the construction of informal networks and their cultural intertwinement and development have not been a focus of international management and organization studies, a gap that this special issue seeks to address. This special issue contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of informal networks and their ambivalence, in which the same networks have different modes of operation and have positive and negative sides intermittently or simultaneously. We demonstrate the context in which informal networks operate, highlight their complexity, and encourage dialogue among scholars studying informal networks in a variety of countries. Using a context-based and comparative perspective allows us to conceptualize informal networks in a more integrated and balanced way. Understanding the workings of informal networkingknown variously as guanxi, yongo, jentinho, wasta, and blatin culturally specific settings, places Western values, social structures, and ideals of behavior in perspective and tests Western-centered assumptions, narratives, and theories. Because informal networking is a conventional way of conducting business in many countries, as depicted in this special issue, defining the bright (positive) and the dark (negative) sides of informal networks is critical for responsible management and business success at multinational corporations.
Research Interests: Sociology, Ethics, Southeast Asian Studies, Business & Society, Social Networking, and 15 morePolitical Science, Social Capital, Culture, Post-Soviet Studies, Networking, Informal Logic, Arab world, Business and Society, Informal Sector, Guanxi, Informality, Informal Institutions, Informal Networks, Labour Relations and Informal Sector, and Jeitinho
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The paper unpacks the "black box" of informal institutions and theorize about the role of informal networks in channeling continuity and change in informal institutions. Specifically, we argue that when informal institutions are enacted... more
The paper unpacks the "black box" of informal institutions and theorize about the role of informal networks in channeling continuity and change in informal institutions. Specifically, we argue that when informal institutions are enacted by informal networks that are "relatively affective" and "relatively closed," their persistence is higher than the persistence of informal institutions that are enacted by "relatively open" and "relatively instrumental" networks.
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This is the first study to explore costs of informal networking in the Western Balkans. In a comparative survey, we find that informal networking, or use of personal contacts for getting things done, is common in the region while the... more
This is the first study to explore costs of informal networking in the Western Balkans. In a comparative survey, we find that informal networking, or use of personal contacts for getting things done, is common in the region while the economic cost of informal networking is substantial (100 euros against average monthly income of 250 Euros). In the structure of networking costs, the estimated costs of invested time, a proxy for sociability, dominate over money. Higher costs are associated with larger networks built on strong ties. Respondents who perceive networking as important tend to invest more time and money. The informal networking costs are also higher for those with more education and income, and for entrepreneurs. Individuals bear the high costs of informal networking not only for social and culturally determined reasons, but also with an instrumental purpose. Our evidence suggests that both sociability and instrumentality drive informal networking.
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The contributors to this volume treat favours, and the doing of favours, as a distinct mode of acting, rather than as a form of masked economic exchange or simply an expression of goodwill.
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Informal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt... more
Informal networking can be seen as a positive activity with beneficial outcomes for individuals, firms, and society as a whole, but informal networking can also lead to collusion, cliques, nepotism, and other forms of unethical or corrupt conduct – largely related to research on emerging markets. To date, the construction of informal networks and their cultural intertwinement and development have not been a focus of international management and organization studies, a gap that this special issue seeks to address. This special issue contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of informal networks and their ambivalence, in which the same networks have different modes of operation and have positive and negative sides intermittently or simultaneously. We demonstrate the context in which informal networks operate, highlight their complexity, and encourage dialogue among scholars studying informal networks in a variety of countries. Using a context-based and comparative perspect...
Research Interests: Ethics, Social Networking, Political Science, Social Capital, Culture, and 15 moreNetworking, Informal Logic, Arab world, Business and Society, Business and Management, Informal Sector, Guanxi, Informality, Post Soviet Studies, Informal Institutions, Management and Organization Theory, Informal Networks, Labour Relations and Informal Sector, Jeitinho, and Business Society
Despite decades of international efforts against it, corruption continues to present multiple challenges to governments, businesses, academics, and the public. This article highlights the importance of complexity, ambivalence and... more
Despite decades of international efforts against it, corruption continues to present multiple challenges to governments, businesses, academics, and the public. This article highlights the importance of complexity, ambivalence and context-sensitive approach to understanding and tackling corruption, and suggests an agenda for future anti-corruption research and policy.
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Russia is characterized by a high degree of interpersonal trust, reflected in the fundamental divide between us/insiders (svoi) and them/outsiders (chuzhie), with a consequent gap in ethical standards. If the lack of an impersonal system... more
Russia is characterized by a high degree of interpersonal trust, reflected in the fundamental divide between us/insiders (svoi) and them/outsiders (chuzhie), with a consequent gap in ethical standards. If the lack of an impersonal system of trust in post-Communist Russia is often explained by the imperfection of newly built institutions that are not trusted for a good reason, the prevalence of strong interpersonal ties is normally linked to Russia's political culture. This chapter argues that imposed forms of cooperation, whether within a peasant community, work collective, or personal network, have produced a form of interpersonal trust associated with a rather compelling form of solidarity–krugovaya poruka–which is most commonly associated with the peasant communes of pre-revolutionary Russia. This chapter examines the origins of krugovaya poruka, taxation and krugovaya poruka, legislation on krugovaya poruka, the abolition of krugovaya poruka, Soviet bureaucracy and krugovaya...
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In spite of the fact that many companies operating in Russia actively undertake specific actions to prevent corrupt acts, most of them do not have a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy. Their definitions of corruption are vague, their... more
In spite of the fact that many companies operating in Russia actively undertake specific actions to prevent corrupt acts, most of them do not have a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy. Their definitions of corruption are vague, their actions target marginal corrupt practices, but miss important threats; their communications are ambiguous. In our research, however, we came across a number of organizations, both local and foreign, who have not only made corruption mitigation their strategic priority, but who have created efficient and effective anti-corruption governance systems. In combination with existing theory, these systems could serve as potent blueprints for leaders who want to take control over corruption at their firms.
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Die Bekampfung der Korruption geniest weltweit Aufmerksamkeit. Doch wie misst man Korruption? Viele Sozialwissenschaftler setzen auf quantitative Methoden. Doch diese haben eine Schwache. Sie sind blind fur den jeweiligen sozialen und... more
Die Bekampfung der Korruption geniest weltweit Aufmerksamkeit. Doch wie misst man Korruption? Viele Sozialwissenschaftler setzen auf quantitative Methoden. Doch diese haben eine Schwache. Sie sind blind fur den jeweiligen sozialen und lokalen Kontext, in dem Menschen informelle Praktiken anwenden. Auch ist nicht jedes informelle Handeln Korruption. Um die Grenzen exakt zu bestimmen sowie Formen und Ursachen von Korruption erfassen zu konnen, sollte die Korruptionsforschung starker qualitative Methoden und Ansatze der Ethnographie nutzen.
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Russia's Economy of Favours By Alena Ledeneva in a brilliantly short account by Svetlana Barsukova.
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Alena Ledeneva invites you on a voyage of discovery, to explore society’s open secrets, unwritten rules and know-how practices. Broadly defined as ‘ways of getting things done’, these invisible yet powerful informal practices tend to... more
Alena Ledeneva invites you on a voyage of discovery, to explore society’s open secrets, unwritten rules and know-how practices. Broadly defined as ‘ways of getting things done’, these invisible yet powerful informal practices tend to escape articulation in official discourse. They include emotion-driven exchanges of gifts or favours and tributes for services, interest-driven know-how (from informal welfare to informal employment and entrepreneurship), identity-driven practices of solidarity, and power-driven forms of co-optation and control. The paradox, or not, of the invisibility of these informal practices is their ubiquity. Expertly practised by insiders but often hidden from outsiders, informal practices are, as this book shows, deeply rooted all over the world, yet underestimated in policy. Entries from the five continents presented in this volume are samples of the truly global and ever-growing collection, made possible by a remarkable collaboration of over 200 scholars across disciplines and area studies.
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Review of Can Russia Modernise?
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by Chris Weafer
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by Alexandra Vasilieva in Politische Vierteljahresschrift (2014, No. 2)
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Includes Can Russia Modernise
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Review on in Europe-Asia Studies
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OUR DAILY CO jy E u CO g SOCIALIST DISTRIBUTION i AND THE ART OF SURVIVAL IN STALIN'S RUSSIA, S 1927-1941 K u z LU X Elena Osokrna Edited by Kate Transche/ ... Our Daily Socialist Distribution and the Art of Survival in Stalin's... more
OUR DAILY CO jy E u CO g SOCIALIST DISTRIBUTION i AND THE ART OF SURVIVAL IN STALIN'S RUSSIA, S 1927-1941 K u z LU X Elena Osokrna Edited by Kate Transche/ ... Our Daily Socialist Distribution and the Art of Survival in Stalin's Russia, 1927-1941 Elena Osokina. ...
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Redburn Lunch discussion on 16 March 2015
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Corruption in Russia is of endemic nature. It can be traced back to traditional practices that also form a foundation of the present-day system of governance, often referred to as ‘sistema’. The logic of ‘feeding,’ ‘joint responsibility’... more
Corruption in Russia is of endemic nature. It can be traced back to traditional practices that also form a foundation of the present-day system of governance, often referred to as ‘sistema’. The logic of ‘feeding,’ ‘joint responsibility’ and ‘Potemkin villages’ is reproduced in the reliance of Putin’s network-based governance system on such instruments as undeclared incentives, informal affiliations, hidden agendas and warning signals. Putin’s sistema gives dynamism to government’s economic and political projects by engaging personalized influence, but at the same time its informal and non-transparent nature creates a fertile ground for corruption and makes its mitigation difficult. I argue that corruption it Russia could not be effectively managed unless its leaders reflect upon the system of informal governance they operate in and articulate its consequences, of which endemic corruption is one of the most devastating for the country.
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Happy New Year 2016!!!